The babbling barbarian she adores
by FollowThatConvoy
Summary: Sheriff Swan and Madam Mayor share a bit more than a son. Progressive SwanQueen (not a spoiler because SQ is endgame here). Rated M just in case. R&R!
1. Babbling barbarian

**A/N:** Very lame attempt at a SwanQueen story ahead. Beware! Also, CS disregarded. I hope it amuses you as it did me. Welcome to the story and thank you for reading!

 **Disclaimer:** I don't own Once Upon a Time or its characters. Only for fun.

This is dedicated to Agatha, the Muse.

 **1\. Babbling barbarian**

For a boy who once felt like he was trapped by a loveless queen and neglected by an unknown irresponsible, now Henry wished he could go back to the sensation of abandonment. He was sitting at the principal's office, where both his mothers were expected, and he knew he was in trouble, no matter how the sense of injustice burned his stomach.

Regina was the first to arrive, eyes wide as she looked up and down the corridor's length, until she finally spotted Henry in the east room. She seemed flustered, as if she had been swept off her feet during a meeting – which was probably the case – but she also looked breathless, like she hurried from her car to the building – which was probably the case, too.

Regina would completely forget to just poof herself in and out of places when she was under stress or got caught up by any unpleasant surprise.

Like the time Henry told her that Emma had had a fifteen-seconds-crush on her the day they met.

"Madam Mayor, please, have a seat," the principal said quietly, pointing a leather chair to his mother. "I had expected Henry's other mom could be here on time, too."

At first Regina narrowed her eyes, like wondering what that man was insinuating. Was he expecting _her_ to call Emma? Was he expecting them to share transportation? And then her expression went blank as she tensed her shoulders.

"The Sheriff is not here _yet_?" she asked to the room at large, emphasizing her annoyance unnecessarily.

She had been doing that a lot lately, Henry noticed. Since the day Henry told her the news of her catching his biological mom's eye like it was as casual as the price of tomatoes, Regina had been acting weird at the mere mention of Emma Swan's name.

"Sorry," the blonde gasped , bursting into the room as though she was conjured there by Henry's thoughts.

She waved an awkward goodbye to a younger woman with red hair at the door and slumped down ungracefully on the chair at Henry's other side.

Regina measured the girl from head to toe until she felt uncomfortable and left.

"What happened?" she interjected above their son's head,

Emma sighed. "It was my day off, and David had the Cruiser."

"You have that death trap to move around."

"I was not home."

"You could have poofed here!" the queen said with an impatient eye roll, disregarding the fact that she didn't do it either.

"I tried, but I ended up in my mom's apartment, without my boots and my pants."

Regina looked more flustered than she already was, and Emma was an ugly shade of crimson by the time she finished her sentence.

"Who was that?" the brunette asked disdainfully, pointing at the door on the back.

"Nadia," the blonde grunted.

Regina raised an eyebrow when Emma averted her gaze.

"Who's Nadia?"

"A ride."

"Oh, is that a new euphemism for one night stands, Sheriff Swan?"

" _Moms,_ " Henry muttered, embarrassed that this exchange had to take place in front of the school principal.

The man had his brow slightly furrowed; he was staring so intensely at the papers that if he had any magic in him, he would have already set the reports on fire. He cleared his throat and looked at the weird and yet oddly natural family in front of him.

"Madam Mayor, Sheriff Swan… Thank you for coming. It is an actual disappointment to have to summon you to discuss Henry's behavior. He's been a role model as far as grades are concerned, but he's also having difficulty dealing with a bully – who is already being punished for provoking the situation."

"So basically my kid punched a kid who attacked him first," Emma said quietly as she noticed Henry's red knuckles. Her voice was thick – probably from drinks and sleep – but it felt so firm and protective that Regina forgot for a second she was an imbecile and joined her at glaring at the principal.

He did not cave. "There were witnesses in favor of your son. There was no need to pay back. I need to punish him in order to discourage violence. He is suspended for two days."

"What did he say to you?" Emma asked Henry, her eyes still on the middle aged man, just as if she _knew_ exactly what her son had to endure.

"It doesn't matter," Henry grunted, growing red on the cheeks. "I think I broke his front teeth, it's not like he'll be talking much for a few days."

Regina was a second away from letting an evil laugh out, but she had to settle for an exasperated sigh.

"It's okay, you can tell us, kid."

"No, ma, I can't."

"Let me guess… Is it anything misogynist related to his other mom?" Emma snarled at the principal, who looked uncomfortable for the first time. "Yeah, I thought so. Why don't you start discouraging _that_ in your stupid school, Mr., huh, Principal? There's a whole section in the Storybrooke Law Code about verbal violence and hate speech. I'll be watching you."

Regina frowned. Emma had _actually_ read that?

The blonde stood up and waited for Regina and Henry to follow. When they moved past her, the principal called her out.

"Here's a report of the situation, Sheriff. I _am_ making sure this won't happen again, to Henry or any other kid."

Emma looked straight into his eyes. The ghost of the Dark One was still there, and it gave him chills.

"Good."

And with that, she left the room and joined Henry and Regina in the corridor.

"I'll drive Henry home, and then I'll drop by the station so we can discuss that," Regina pointed the envelope in Emma's hand and twisted on her heels, one arm across her son's shoulders.

Henry looked back apologetically at the blonde, but she nodded in understanding. She watched them go away, then she sat down in one of the wooden benches and fished for the contents of the envelope.

There was a school file with the offensive words and a drawing that had Emma bursting into laughter at first. It was a very graphic depiction of a hyper sexualized and half naked Evil Queen, wearing dark leather garments and carrying a whip. There was also a cowboy style sketch of herself, with significantly larger boobs, staring at the Queen with her arms folded.

Emma stopped laughing when she read the text.

There was a phone number and the words _Call me to join the magic moms._

She felt _so_ angry… A fire extinguisher exploded nearby, and when the principal stuck his head out of the door, Emma was already gone.

XXX

"I got suspended and you bought me hot cocoa _and_ my favorite kind of bagel?" Henry asked as he stared surprised at the contents in the paper bag.

Regina walked around the central island of their pristine kitchen and looked fondly at her son.

"Whatever it was you had to put up with… Thank you for standing up for me. You are among the very few people who have ever done that on my behalf," she said with an emotional, tiny smile. "And don't get used to treats, it was wrong to punch your colleague. Miss Swan and I will discuss your punishment for that, too."

"So you just wanted to sugar coat before you grounded me for defending your honor?" Henry asked, but with a joyful smile. "I think I can survive that."

Regina laughed. "You better start on some homework and study, young man. I'm gonna meet your mother at the station."

Henry nodded, taking a large bite from his bagel.

Suddenly, it felt awesome again that he had two mothers who worried themselves stupid about him.

XXX

Emma could tell her father was doing unhuman effort to keep from laughing at her face as he returned the drawing.

"So…huh," he cleared his throat. "People in Storybrooke… _Young_ people in Storybrooke tend to… imagine things like this. It's not a big deal."

"They think me and Regina are a weird, S&M couple, dad!"

David burst out laughing, unable to hold it back a second longer. However, it was really short lived. As Regina marched inside the station, he had to transform it into a fit of cough, his wide eyes watering and his face red.

"Go see a doctor, David," she snarled with disgust, averting him on her way to Emma's desk.

"Huh, I probably just got a cold from chasing Pongo in the woods."

"Yeah, you should get better payment for doing such a life threatening job."

As sarcasm dripped from her every word, Emma refrained from closing her eyes and picturing Regina in leather garments with a whip saying that.

"Huh, dad, would you give us a minute?"

David nodded and left quickly, throwing a pointed look at Emma.

"What was that?" Regina spat.

"That what?"

"Don't bother playing dumb with me, Sheriff Swan. Well, I guess you just don't _play_ it. That look Charming gave you? What's in the paper?"

"Huh… nothing."

" _Sheriff-_ "

The blonde rolled her eyes. She liked when Regina called her Emma. Just Emma, like when she yelled the day Emma stepped into darkness for her. It came followed by 'idiot', but she was really getting used to it.

"It's nothing. Just teenager bullshit. Henry handled it pretty well, everything considered."

" _What_ is in the paper, Sheriff Swan?" Regina repeated, losing her cool as she sat down on top of the desk.

"I don't want you to see it," Emma grumbled, folding her arms like a stubborn child.

"You don't _want_ me to see it?"

"Nope."

"I'm his mother, I have to see it!"

"Trust me, you don't wanna see this, Regina-"

"That is not up to you!"

"C'mon, it's not-"

But Regina had snapped her fingers and the paper was gone from Emma's hand. With a smug smile, the mayor unfolded it and looked down. The smirk disappeared and was replaced by a frown in less than a second.

Emma imagined she would crumple it, set it on fire and never talk to her again, but Regina was really full of surprises. She folded the paper carefully as she sat down on the chair in front of the blonde.

"We need to discuss Henry's punishment."

Emma blinked. "What, you're not mad?"

"Of course I'm mad."

"Then why-?"

"Because I can't set an adolescent on fire," Regina completed the sentence with an unpleasant grin. "Henry broke his teeth for me, I think I can settle for that."

"For _us,_ " she corrected her. "I am in the drawing too."

"I'm sure you enjoyed your part on that, Sheriff."

The look on Emma's face made Regina rearrange her malicious expression. "What you suggest for Henry?"

She shrugged, staring at her knees. "A gold medal?"

" _Emma_."

Her name came out of Regina's lips with a tired sigh that made her completely lose focus on the matter.

"You called me Emma."

Regina tensed up again. "Isn't that your name?"

"Yeah, well-"

"His punishment, Sheriff," the mayor pressed on. "I don't have all day long to watch you babble over irrelevant things. You have a girlfriend to find you adorable even when you behave like a-"

"Nadia's not my girlfriend!"

"That's irrelevant, too," Regina said with indifference, standing up and placing the paper back on the desk. "I'm going to ground him for the rest of the week, if that's okay to your lovesick judgement."

"I'm not lovesick!"

Regina grabbed her purse. "And next time you want to intimidate someone, make sure you know their name. _Mister Principal_!" she scoffed. "Good day, Sheriff."

Emma kept watching the exact point of the door where the mayor had disappeared, leaving behind a trace of expensive perfume and the echoes of her stilettoes on the floor boards.

" _Good day, Madam Hot Pants_ ," Emma blurted out with a grimace, right in the second David re-entered the station.

She groaned, burying her fingers in her hair.

"I take it the conversation didn't go so well."

"She's a pain in the ass!"

He smiled at his flustered daughter. So, _so_ in love…

XXX

"How's your hand?"

Henry took a bite from his doughnut on the way back to his house. Regina had left a list on the refrigerator with things she needed, and he thought it would be a nice thing to do once he was free from school.

He had called Emma to help him sort out groceries, but it turned out she was bad at that. It took them about one hour to get everything right, until Snow White showed up at the market. She doubled checked the list, swapped a few goods and sent them on their way to the cashier.

"Not bad like it did yesterday."

"Don't tell your mom I said that, but it takes practice to prevent bruises."

Henry laughed. "I won't."

"By the way, is she okay? I mean, I heard about that Robin dude from other people, but I guess break ups suck even in fairytales," Emma stopped by the French's flower stand. "Here," she picked white roses. "Give her these."

Henry raised one eyebrow. "From you?"

"From _you_ , kid!"

"My mom doesn't talk much about it," he went on, accepting the flowers on a nice arrangement as Emma paid for them. "I mean, there was one day we discussed it over dinner."

"And?" Emma asked as they kept walking.

"She said she was used to the idea of not having a happy ending because she was evil and she didn't deserve love."

"That's not true."

"That's what I told her."

Henry suspected Emma would detect the small omission, but she didn't.

" _Everybody deserves love, mom."_

" _Maybe I don't," she said with that sad smile he was so familiar with._

" _Listen, Robin was just_ one _guy. There are other people out there."_

 _She chuckled as she caressed his messy hair. "And what people out there would want anything to do with the Evil Queen?"_

" _You're not it anymore. Besides, you're really beautiful."_

" _Oh, you think so, dear?"_

" _Everyone does, even… Emma."_

" _Emma?"_

" _I… heard her say it once… By accident," he added. "At Granny's… She told Ruby she had a crush on you."_

" _She… did?"_

" _Until you started bitching about her abandoning me and shit-"_

" _Henry Daniel Mills, language!"_

 _It was not even like she could consider he made that up – the way Henry spoke it… It was_ all Emma Swan _._

"Well, flowers might cheer her up," Emma said, adjusting the grocery bags on her arms. "Hey, we should always do this."

"Buy flowers to my mom?"

"Grocery shopping, kid," she rolled her eyes. "It was kinda fun, wasn't it? You and I, picking zucchinis?"

"Sure. I guess she would like that, I mean… She's a single mom since I was born. No one ever helped her."

"See? That's great to get on her good books again."

"For me? Or for you?"

"It's not me on the dog house, mister," Emma scoffed, but Henry knew she was bluffing.

"Yeah right," he chuckled.

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"She's not very happy you got a girlfriend."

"For the last time, Nadia IS NOT my girlfriend! Wait…" She was frowning, and Henry could almost see the engines spinning inside her head. "Did your mom… say that?"

"Say what?"

"About Nadia!" Emma looked like she wanted to throw the paper bags at his head.

It was too fun to mess with her.

"What about Nadia?"

Emma sighed. "How can you tell? I always feel like I'm in the dog house with your mom…Especially the last few weeks."

Henry considered his options.

He could tell Emma that Regina knew about her crush. He could tell Emma that _maybe_ it got his mom's hopes up. And he could tell Emma that her showing up with a new girlfriend _might_ have been a disappointment.

But either way, he would have to confess he sold her out, so no deal.

"She's always been like that to you."

Emma considered it for a while as they approached 108 Mifflin Street. "It feels different now."

Henry was going to ask her what felt different, but Regina was on the front porch, hands on her hips, looking like she could murder someone.

"Where have you been with him?"

Emma looked a little startled that once again she was the target of Regina's wrath.

"Huh… He called for help, I-"

"Help with what?" the mayor cupped his face with both hands. "Are you okay, honey?"

"I'm fine, mom," he grinned, gently disentangling himself from the woman. "We went grocery shopping for you," he pointed the paper bags on Emma's arms.

Regina turned to look at the blonde. "He is grounded! You're not supposed to take him out when he's grounded!"

"Oh."

"Yeah, _oh,_ " Regina beckoned Emma inside. "Take those to the kitchen."

Emma hurried past them, dropped the bags and made her way out without even saying goodbye. _That_ was why she was always in the dog house with Regina.

Fuck.

XXX

"So, do you want to explain yourself?"

"I was just bored, mom," Henry said slightly put out. "And we wanted to do a little something for you."

"I appreciate the gesture, but you can't keep breaking rules like that, Henry."

"Sorry."

She took a deep breath as she sat down on the couch. "Why don't you go clean up your room while I make us some dinner?"

"Okay. Here. Those are for you," he handed her the bouquet.

"You bought me flowers?" Regina asked as she took it with a joyful smile that Henry hadn't seen in a long time.

"Emma did."

Regina blinked nervously.

"She said flowers would cheer you up, and that I should give 'em to you."

"Oh!" she chuckled a little embarrassed for assuming that _Emma_ bought her flowers. "So the babbling barbarian actually _knows_ things… Thank you, honey."

When Henry stood up, Regina changed her mind. "In fact, why don't you help me with dinner? I'll have Emma come by tomorrow to help you with your room. Still considering relocating your things?"

Henry looked at her a little surprised. He thought the idea of dragging furniture on her polished wooden floor was out of question. "Huh, sure!"

"Good. I'll give her a call. Go ahead and get started with the salad."

As soon as he left the living room, Regina felt her body sink on the cushion. So the un-charming princess bought her flowers – for Henry, but still, she paid - and would spent the afternoon inside her house, carrying heavy things around Henry's room like a mule.

It reminded Regina of the drawing.

It was a bad idea. It was a _very_ bad idea. She heard Henry laugh in the kitchen, and when she approached him, he showed her his cellphone.

"I just added my mom's head to a Spartan's body."

Note to self: confiscate his phone in the future.

XXX

Snow White put down a plate of freshly baked cookies in front of Emma. She looked up at her mom; the woman was smiling like a maniac.

"What dad told you?" she asked in a bored tone.

"Nothing! I'm just spoiling my little girl, is that against the law?"

"No. But bribing the sheriff for information is."

"Well, a bird told me you're in a sort of a romance."

"Literally a bird? I mean, you're Snow White and stuff, and –"

"Your _dad_ told me," the brunette sighed with an eye roll. "Who is she?"

Emma stared at her mother. It was weird that an old fashioned royal from the Enchanted Forest could have taken so well the fact that, with the exception of Neal, her enchanted princess was into other princesses.

She had looked relieved, even, especially after Hook's rude and insistent court became more aggressive. He gave up, eventually, but not before Emma yelled to his face she was gay. Unfortunately at the time, Prince Charming and Snow White were in the same room and listened to everything.

David had that wise man look of someone who knew it _all along_. Snow needed time to process; a batch of cookies and several cups of tea, until she noticed it held no importance – she would always love her daughter, no matter what. (" _That little speech was a little unladylike, but well, your father and I will always support you.")._

"It's just a girl I met at The rabbit Hole two nights ago. No big deal," Emma sipped her coffee. "Unless you tell me she was, like, your cousin. Or my auntie."

Snow chuckled. "Nadia was from a different realm, I never met her before."

"So dad told you, like, _everything_."

"What he told me was that _Regina_ really hates Nadia."

Emma didn't like that knowing look on her mother's shiny, expectant eyes.

"So everybody noticed that. Okay. What's the deal with Regina? She doesn't even like me. Or, I don't know, who she doesn't hate?"

Snow smiled at her daughter's obliviousness. "Sweetie, you're like an… Ex-husband. You and Regina share a kid, a kid she took care of _alone_ until you showed up. Then suddenly she's letting you in Henry's life, and when she's finally comfortable with having you around…"

"I go to the principal's office with a girlfriend. Shit. Yeah, that makes sense."

"You should all get along, you know, so she understands this girl will be a nice step-"

" _Whoa_!" Emma stood up. "Hold your enchanted horses there, mom! I'm not … _marrying_ Nadia! We hooked up once! _Jesus_!"

"I'm just saying what I understood from the situation. If she's going to be part of your life, it would be better if Nadia and Henry liked each other, and on the long run, that Regina accepts her."

Emma sat back down, thinking hard about everything. Why something so simple had to become so complicated? Not to mention she had no intention to get into anything serious with-

"Your phone's buzzing, sweetie."

"Huh?" Emma grunted idiotically, reaching out for the device and checking the screen. Speak of the devil. "Hey."

" _Are you busy?_ "

"Huh, right now?"

" _This afternoon_." Emma could sense Nadia's smile as she spoke.

"Huh, yeah, no, I'm good."

" _That you are. My place, three o'clock, Swan._ "

Emma hang up, lost in thought, unaware of her mother's scrutiny. Her phone buzzed almost immediately after she disconnected the call, and when she looked at the screen again, the name flashing gave her heart a jolt.

She promptly stood up from the stool with a goofy smile. "Hi."

Snow could recognize that bossy voice from miles.

" _Considering I couldn't reach you at the station, I assume the day is uneventful._ "

Busted.

"Oh. Yeah! I just came over my parents' to borrow a wire extension for-"

" _I need you to watch Henry this afternoon."_

Emma gulped. "Today?"

" _Yes, today. Is there a problem?"_

"Oh no, of course not, but I'll need someone to cover for me at the station-"

" _I have already called deputy Charming, Sheriff_."

"Oh," Emma nodded, pacing around the kitchen counter. "Okay then. I'll pick him at school."

" _Don't be late._ "

"Why would you- Hang up on my face?" Emma let out a frustrated sigh.

"So, it looks like you are in fact successful with the girls."

"Mom!"

"I'm kidding! Lighten up, Emma," Snow chuckled.

She was going to cancel a nice laid. There was no way in hell she could lighten up.

However… The thought of being with her kid all afternoon, and then getting to see Regina after work… Well, that seemed pretty cool too.

She picked up her phone and dialed Nadia's number.

" _Didn't expect to hear from you so soon, Swan._ "

Again, the smile on her voice.

"Huh, hey! Listen… I'll have to cancel that… appointment."

" _Oh?_ " Smile gone.

"Regina called. I need to stay with Henry this afternoon."

" _Isn't your son, like, fourteen?_ "

"My son got suspended, and is grounded… Regina would not have called if it wasn't important."

" _Okay_ ," she said slowly. " _So, what happened?_ "

Emma had no idea what had happened.

"Just teenager's crap. Maybe she wants me to have _the talk_ with him," Emma grimaced as she wondered out loud. She cleared her throat. "Can we reschedule?"

" _Of course. Give me a call sometime."_

Emma smiled.

"Will do," she disconnected and looked up at her mother. "Don't give me that look."

"I'm not giving you any look. Take these to your father, he forgets to eat during the day and comes home with a sour mood."

Emma took the plate of cookies wrapped in tinfoil, waited for Snow to hug her and then she left to the station again. When she arrived, she noticed she was looking forward to three in the afternoon, even though she had cancelled hot sex.

Emma walked from the station to Henry's school. She had waited until a quarter to three, when she decided she couldn't wait anymore. The only call she got before that was from the cat lady who lost her cat – he was inside the dish washer – and a few text messages from Nadia, so the day had been a slow death.

She just didn't understand.

She saw Henry all the time, and she got scolded quite often by his other mom. Emma had no idea why suddenly a day with the Mills was so indispensable and better than one night stands with pretty young ladies.

XXX

Regina arrived home at six sharp, and once she spotted the hideous red leather jacket on the backrest of a chair, she was, once again that day, reminded that the idiot was inside. Almost on cue, a thundering noise boomed from upstairs. Regina narrowed her eyes when the crystal chandelier on the hall swung back and forth and flickered.

Regina was used to brute men; she was not particularly fond of them, but she could tolerate rude mouths and lack of manners at a certain distance.

Since the fiasco with Robin Hood, she did not pay much attention to other potential love interests. It was decided she did not get to have a relationship because she had been evil, so why bother?

She stopped at the doorway to Henry's room, and was ready to a full speech on how she would burn a certain yellow bug if her house was destroyed, when the sight in front of her made her whole body shiver pleasurably.

There was Sheriff Swan, grunting and sweating and using profanities nonstop in front of their son, flexing her perfectly sculpted arms to relocate Henry's bookcase with all the books in it. Henry was merely watching, standing with one shoulder against the wall, eating a bagel like he didn't have a concern in the world.

That was a very, very unpleasant surprise how Regina's arms and legs were covered in goosebumps at light speed. Emma and Henry turned to look at her, standing there like she was having a minimized heart attack. They waved.

"Hi, mom!"

"Hi, Regina!"

She spun on her heels and hurried to her bedroom, but not before she heard Emma saying out loud "And they say _I'm_ the babbling barbarian!"

XXX

"I asked you not to tell her I told you she calls you a barbarian!" Henry protested, even though he wanted to laugh. "A little bit more to the left."

Emma puffed, dropping the bookcase and folding her arms against her chest. "How about you get your hands dirty and help me here?"

"Fine," he left his bagel on the plate on top of his bed and walked towards his mother. "Come on, ma. It's not that heavy."

"Go ahead, then."

He rolled his eyes. It _was_ heavy, but because she didn't listen to him and maintained the books there.

"Hey, kid?" Emma grumbled as they pivoted it a little. "Are you in trouble because I said that?"

"Maybe."

"I'm sorry, huh… to the right, now… I owe you one."

"That's okay," Henry breathed heavily as they finally managed to place the furniture where he wanted. "I told her you had a crush on her, so we can call it even."

"You did WHAT?"


	2. Miss Swan

**So, I decided to offer a Sunday special (Sundays always depress me to no end), but I hope this can cheer some of you (at least those who are in the same time zone I am). If you're not, consider it a Monday boost.**

 **Thank you so much for the reviews, favs and follows. They made my weekend.**

 **Enough babbling.**

 **2\. Miss Swan**

Three months ago, Emma Swan had burst into her office in Town Hall, and Regina had expected some sort of impromptu angry speech regarding the way she, a public figure, disdained Emma, another public figure, in... well, _public_.

Regina was aware she had pushed it last Council meeting, where her personal issues with the sheriff came to surface in front of the other members, and suddenly they sounded like divorced parents fighting over old sorrows.

However, the un-Charming blonde came to a halt in front of Regina's desk, hands stuck into the back pockets of her jeans, and she looked oddly uncomfortable.

"Regina, listen… I… Henry told me that he told you that I… that I had a… thing… for you. Not a _thing_ , but you know… feelings of… attraction, huh… Not romantic feelings, or even… I mean, he was not supposed to hear me talking about that, and I am sorry if I embarrassed you. I meant no harm with the flowers, and I hated that other people would insinuate you're with me. I… It's just no big deal, okay? I'm over it. I'm never… It's not like I thought I stood a chance or anything. I'm sorry, again, for all of that."

She waited a few seconds that seemed to last an eternity, but as Regina was unable to respond or react, Emma simply turned around and marched back to the door. "So… Okay. Huh, have a good one, I guess."

Regina replayed that impulsive monologue over and over in her head as she watched the street out of the window. It had been that long since Emma Swan spoke directly to her for the last time. Now, all she got were work-related, short emails, messages from her secretary or a comment from Henry.

Emma Swan was afflicted with the foot in the mouth disease, and that always resulted in her speaking beyond appropriate – the reason why Regina felt so ( _betrayed_ was a really strong word ) _left out_ when she found out the worst way possible – town gossip – that the sheriff, her son's other mother, was officially going out with that girl.

The couple would come to her house to pick Henry for movies on weekends, they would post tagged pictures of him on that stupid Facebook and they would even ask him to a quick camp trip in the outskirts of Storybrooke.

Henry seemed to like Nadia, because he would constantly tell Regina how nice she was, and how she laughed when Emma did her goofy things. Who wouldn't like Nadia? She was young, caring, had beautiful green eyes and a curled mane of fiery red hair.

She worked at the hospital as a nurse, did volunteer work some weekends, and had offered to help Henry with his volcano project.

Regina regretted casting the curse and being forced to live with certain people, some days.

She scoffed, her nose and lips twisted into a childish grimace, when she heard someone clear their throat. Her previous nemesis, Snow White, had entered the office with a briefcase and a look of amusement that Regina didn't like one bit.

"Good morning, Regina. I'm here for Principal Michaels. Here's a proposal. A project, if you prefer, and it requires your approval."

"Let me see it," she beckoned the woman in and pointed a chair as she waited to be handed over the briefcase.

It was about random lectures, regarding sexuality, gender equality, mutual respect and civil rights.

"He didn't come himself because you and Emma scared him that day."

She sounded proud, and that made Regina frown for a moment.

"Well, that was mostly your daughter. I just sat there."

"Anyway, it was nice teamwork, as usual."

"What do you mean, _as_ _usual_?"

Snow looked at her like she couldn't believe her ears. "You saved her from being bounded to a dagger!"

"Because she saved me first!"

"See? Teamwork."

Regina rolled her eyes. It seemed she would have to put up not only with the nurse but also with the Charming's hope and positivity for a _long_ time. To her surprise, the pixie haired woman stood up and collected the signed papers without pressing the matter like Regina expected she would.

"Well, thank you. Have a nice day!" she said cheerfully, spinning on her heels to get to the door.

"Snow?"

She spun back. "Yeah?"

"Is… Is Emma alright?"

"Why are you asking me? Emma goes to your house all the time, Regina."

Yes. She came often to the front porch to pick or drop Henry, and then she would leave.

"We are not talking much these days," the former queen admitted a little reluctantly.

"Oh. Well, Emma should know better than that. It's not because she's dating that she's supposed to ignore her friends."

 _Friends_. It didn't ring right, and Regina didn't know why it sounded like a very weak bond compared to what the sheriff had with Nadia.

"I only wanted to make sure she was okay, after everything that happened. She… sacrificed herself for me because she thought Robin was my happy ending, and now I wish her-"

"Emma's happy," Snow said, not sounding extremely joyful about it. "But I can't believe you two _never_ talked about it."

Regina hated how that woman just _knew_ them.

"What's there to say? Thank you but Robin wasn't worth the sacrifice?" she said helplessly.

Snow sighed and returned to the desk. She sat down again and looked straight into Regina's eyes without flinching.

"How did you do _that,_ by the way?"

"Did what?"

"How did you take the darkness away? How did you get rid of it?"

Regina rolled her eyes. She buried that day in her cemetery of days she wanted to forget about, and she never discussed that with anyone, not even Emma.

"I did not use dark magic, if that is what you're worried about. I did what anyone could have done. Anyone with magic, but still… If you had magic, you would've done it. Happy?"

Snow sighed in defeat. One day she would convince Regina to explain, but now her curiosity for the rest of the subject was killing her. "So what happened? Why… Robin Hood?"

Regina hated what she was about to do; she thought she had hit rock bottom if Snow White was the person she found most solace to talk about her constantly deceived heart. She made sure the door to her office was closed. "Do you have time?"

Snow didn't even hesitate. "I'm all ears."

XXX

"Are you sure you don't wanna come home with me?"

Emma watched Nadia's deep, beautiful eyes. She always got distracted by them, but the tight uniform played a great part on that distraction.

"I'm on night duty, I really don't wanna wake you up at two in the morning."

Nadia laughed, because she knew Emma was referring to her ability to trip over any object when lights were out.

"You can have breakfast with me before you go to work, though," the Sheriff went on, leaning on the car window with a sexy smirk. "My dad will arrive at six, so we'll have a few minutes."

"Deal. I'll see you, then, Swan."

She pecked Emma's lips and started the car. As she climbed up the stairs to her parents' apartment, Emma couldn't shake the feeling of missing something. Nadia was hot and fun, and their relationship was alright – something that ended up by happening naturally, even though initially neither one of them planned on having it.

Nadia was nice to Henry, and he seemed to like her. She never spoke ill of Regina and then covered her mouth real quickly like other people did – in fact, Nadia seemed to understand Regina almost like Snow did. Maybe it had something to do with her being a nurse and the whole empathy deal.

On general things were great, but Emma still felt that void, something she never seemed to get rid of, no matter what happened, no matter how many good people entered her life.

"Hi, sweetie!" Snow said when she flared the door open and found her daughter there. "I didn't expect to see you today! Stay for dinner?"

"I feel empty," Emma grunted, massaging her stomach and then taking off her jacket.

"That's great, because I made too much mashed potatoes."

Emma chuckled. Her mother always knew how to cheer her up.

"Where's dad?"

"Went night fishing with Henry."

"So, just the two of us, huh? Or is baby Neal already on a mashed potatoes diet?"

Her little brother was sound asleep on his stroller.

"Don't look so disappointed. I'm not bringing up your love life, if that makes you so uncomfortable."

"Thank you."

"I saw Regina the other day."

Emma raised one eyebrow. Well, that was not bringing up her love life. Before admitting she wished it was (sort of), she heard a tiny voice in the back of her mind.

 _Come back… Please…_

She shook her head to send it away. Since she was turned into the Dark One, even if for a few hours, there was a crying voice that disturbed her to no end. It didn't sound like anyone she knew, it didn't sound human.

Emma blinked fast and paid attention to her mother, who was already talking.

"- office to get her approval on the new school program. Principal Michaels is really scared that you'll arrest him or something."

"Well, he should," the blonde shrugged like it was no big deal, but in fact she felt quite proud of herself about that. The kid had offended Regina, and the Principal punished _Henry_ for breaking his teeth. Emma wished she could kill them both.

"She asked about you," Snow went on, serving ground beef on her daughter's plate.

Emma snapped back to reality. "She did?"

"You should stop being a stranger just because Nadia keeps you _occupied_. I know you like her, and that she's really cute, but you and Regina were friends before Nadia, and that shouldn't change!"

Emma stared at her meal, desperate to sound uninterested. "How's she?"

"I think she's fine. Got a new haircut and all."

Emma had noticed. She had seen Regina from a distance as she waited for Henry in the car in front of 108 Mifflin Street last Wednesday. She looked so beautiful…

"Reminds me of us fighting a lot when I first got here," Emma grunted , attacking her food with a noticeable irritability. Why was that Regina affected her this much? As if having a crush on her was not enough.

"She's not that person anymore, sweetie. In fact, I'm surprised she's not acting on her frustration. I mean, she's a beautiful woman, right? Who wouldn't want her?"

Emma had to struggle a great deal to keep her blasé act. "What frustration?"

"You have to promise me you won't tell her I said that."

"We don't talk," Emma grumbled over a mouthful of food. "Besides, my lips are sealed."

"By mashed potatoes, apparently," Snow sighed. "Well, it seems there's something wrong with fate."

"How so?"

"Tinker Bell gave her some pixie dust back in the Enchanted Forest, when Regina was younger. She said the dust would lead her to her true love. I don't think Regina believed her at the time, not after what happened to Daniel."

Emma looked at her mother when she made that pause.

"Mom, enough with the guilty trips. It's been over thirty years."

Snow offered her a sad smile. "It revealed to Regina that her true love was a guy inside a tavern."

"Well, that seems pretty much like half the population in the Enchanted Forest."

"Wrong, for one detail. This man had a lion tattoo on his wrist."

"A lion tattoo?"

"Or lion-ish. Pixie dust is never too precise. It might even be a different person with a different tattoo. But you see, tattoos were not very common back in the enchanted forest, so… Maybe she was bounded to curse us all and then meet her true love here, in Storybrooke-"

Emma choked on her food, and after several smacks on her back and a glass of water, she finally could breathe. When Snow returned to her stool, the blonde picked at her sleeves uncomfortably, almost covering her hands.

"Right," she pulled her sleeve down a bit more.

"And that's why she invested on Robin Hood, thirty years later. He's got one of those."

"Oh…"

"But it turned out the pixie dust was not only imprecise but also wrong."

"Huh."

"I don't understand that. They're never wrong, I mean… They're fairies!"

But Emma was no longer listening to her mother's ramble on fairies or magic. Her head was spinning too fast, and all she could focus on was getting a new, broader wristband to cover the result of her impulsiveness as a teenager.

A tattoo.

XXX

Regina stared at the menu a little frustrated. She had read it through and through, three times, and she still could not decide what to order. And she had thought it would be easy.

"Are you okay?"

She lowered the bookish display of Granny's options and found herself face to face with a yawning Ruby Lucas.

"What makes you think I am not?"

"Nothing. I was just trying to… Nothing. Sorry. My bad."

Regina sighed. "Wait! Miss Lucas… I would… like some help. Please."

Ruby crisped her red lips. "Okay. What is it?"

"I don't know what to pick for… someone else. What people usually order? What's popular?"

Ruby held her smirk back. She was part wolf, and wolves could smell tension from miles. She just _knew_ the food wasn't meant for Henry or Katherine, her secretary, because school and work didn't start before eight. Ruby wished she had one of those jobs.

"Wow, are you gonna surprise some lucky bastard in bed? It's five thirty in the morning."

"Did I give you the impression that it was okay to stick your snout in my business, Miss Lucas?" Regina snapped, growing red on the cheeks. "I accepted your help, but if that means-"

"Sorry! Okay, relax," Ruby's eyes went wide when she realized she told the Mayor to 'relax'. "I'm sorry, really. Huh. People come here for coffee and food, but each one has a particular taste. I'd say latte and scrambled eggs usually please any hungry person, but if you really wanna cause an impression, I need a name."

"I don't want to cause any impression! I just want to buy breakfast!"

"Well… I'll get the latte and the eggs, then."

It sounded lame and simplistic, even for Sheriff Barbarian. Regina groaned in frustration. She was trying to re-ignite a friendship that went cold three months ago, and inconsiderate breakfast didn't seem like a good start.

"Miss Lucas, wait. It's for… the Sheriff," she said quietly, lowering her voice to a murmur.

Ruby grinned widely. "Oh, night shifts! Emma will love this! I'll get it for you, Madam Mayor!"

Regina looked around and face palmed at the outburst. Granny's wasn't full of people, and she wanted to make sure no one of the few sleepy heads was eavesdropping. She preferred to spend her days in the company of a dragon than having that nosy town knowing she was buying breakfast for Emma Swan.

Ruby came back a minute later with two paper bags and a coffee on a cardboard tray. Regina raised her eyebrows; that was a lot of food. She wanted to say to the petulant, still-grinning Miss Lucas that it wasn't breakfast for two, but she decided to settle for accepting the bags and avoid more speculation.

"How much do I owe you?"

"Don't worry. That's on the house."

"Oh. Thank you," Regina said hesitantly, leaving as quickly as possible when she started to feel all eyes on her.

Her heart was drumming awkwardly fast by the time she parked the Mercedes in front of the station. She stepped out of the vehicle, adjusted her pencil skirt, her hair and her blouse, then she collected the bags and coffee from the passenger seat and entered the building.

She pushed the glass door open after one final deep breath, only to find the sheriff sleeping with her boots on top of the desk.

Regina took the time to watch the blonde, so inelegant and yet so… _Emma_. She almost smiled, and when she realized she was ogling the sheriff like a lovesick school girl, Regina cleared her throat.

XXX

 _Please, Emma… Come back…!_

Emma jumped from her chair and fell on the floor. She stood up in half a second, adjusting her hair and her shirt. Damn voices. She almost fell a second time when she noticed the woman in front of her.

"Regina?" she muttered. "What are you doing here?"

"Sorry I interrupted your nap," Regina spat acidly.

The blonde cringed. Busted again at work. She was ready to mouth an apology, when she noticed the paper bags and the coffee.

"You brought me food?" she muttered , her blue eyes suddenly big and round. "Thank you!"

Regina let out an exasperated sigh as she folded her arms. Why Emma had to always do that? How could she look so adorably stupid like that? She shook her head angrily.

"Consider it a thank you," the mayor said arrogantly.

"Thank me for what?" Emma mumbled.

For being her friend.

For believing her.

For understanding her.

For defending their family at the Principal's Office.

For grocery shopping, for the flowers, for the furniture, for Henry, for saving her.

"For taking good care of Storybrooke, of course. I was considering giving the position to the midget Sleepy, but you're doing a much better job," and before Emma could defend herself "And I also wanted to remind you that tonight we have to go to parents and teachers meeting. Seven thirty. Don't be late."

With that, she graciously spun on her high heeled shoes and walked out, leaving a dumb folded Emma behind.

XXX

On her way out, Regina was feeling quite pleased with herself, but it was very short lived. She bumped into Nadia, who also carried a paper bag and a Styrofoam cup of coffee.

"I'm so sorry, are you- Regina?" she frowned. "What are you doing here?"

"Good morning to you too," the former queen grinned with superiority. "Is that scrambled eggs and latte?"

Nadia frowned. "Yeah?"

"Not Miss Swan's favorite, but that was really sweet of you. Have a good day."

The young woman watched the powerful mayor march on her heels towards her car and drive away. When she entered the station, she found her girlfriend smiling like an idiot as she devoured what looked like a small banquet.

The sound of bags falling into the trash can was what got Emma's attention.

"Hey!"

Nadia offered a tiny smile as she slumped down the seat across from Emma. "What was… that woman doing here?"

Emma frowned. "What-?"

"Good morning, ladies!" David greeted with a sing-song voice, rounding on his desk and taking a seat behind his computer. He was oddly early, and absolutely clueless that he had entered the line of fire.

"Regina," Nadia said through gritted teeth. "What was she doing here?"

"She's Henry's other mom!" Emma hissed, feeling the good sensation from a minute ago disappear. "We were discussing Henry!"

"At this ungodly hour? And don't give me that shit, you haven't spoken to each other since we started dating, Emma!"

Her freckles almost disappeared as her cheeks became red.

"Nadia, we-"

"Enjoy your royal breakfast, Swan," she spat, walking out so fast that Emma didn't even have time to answer.

She looked at David, who pretended not to be paying attention as he played solitary in his computer.

"I know you were listening."

"Go home," he grinned. "Get some rest and then you figure this out, okay?"

"You're probably right," Emma grunted, grabbing the bags and her cinnamon coffee. "Have a good day."

"You too, Em."

He had that fucking knowing smirk on his face, but Emma decided she was too tired to worry about that for the time being.

XXX

It was seven thirty-two. Emma stared at the classroom door, then at the board, then at the clock again. Still seven thirty-two. Half of the parents were already sitting in the circle of chairs, but Emma was not particularly friends with any of them.

She only wanted an excuse to avert her mother's expectant eyes.

"So, your dad told me Nadia didn't take well the fact that you and Regina are friends again."

There it was. Privacy was probably _not_ a virtue back in the Enchanted Forest. Emma sighed.

"She's just not really used to us co-parenting Henry, mom," she said dismissively.

"Well, she should! Oh, you're not going to talk to her?"

"Nadia's short fused, but she'll come around eventually."

"No, not Nadia. Regina."

Emma turned around to look at the door and there was the mayor, tidy and elegant as she had been fourteen hours ago. Emma stood up quickly and hurried to greet her.

"Regina," she breathed. "Hi!"

"Good evening, Miss Swan."

"I saved you a seat," Emma grinned, pointing the chair her mother was occupying.

"Well, thank you."

They walked in silence as most conversations dropped and all eyes turned to look at them. The incident with Henry and the other student was becoming quite unpopular. Emma saw her mom get up and join Henry's teacher at the front desk.

Both women sat down, and in a few minutes everyone expected was there. Snow White stood up first and jovially greeted the grumpy-looking parents; that seemed to be the trait that kept her alive in the Enchanted Forest.

At first Emma didn't understand much why she kept using it now that Regina was on their side, but after the first parents' meeting she had to attend she realized the former inhabitants of the Enchanted Forest were nasty when someone told them their children needed more discipline.

They, too, used defensive instincts like an old habit, and more than once those meetings ended up with a pair of parents literally jumping on each other's throat and Emma separating them, pinning one to the ground as she threatened to punch the other, male or female.

"Oh, show time," Regina muttered to herself, and she gasped quietly when Emma laughed humorlessly.

"You like it because it's not you who gets attacked by the savages at the final minutes," the blonde grunted.

"Spoken like a true princess now, Miss Swan."

Emma was about to retort, when suddenly an angry woman turned to Regina.

"Your son broke my son's front teeth. And while he's overprotected by all sides, you have the audacity of threatening to fireball my entire family! That's power abuse!"

There was a loud outburst of protests, but Emma Swan was already standing up.

" _Our_ son only punched your son because he's a little shit with poor education!"

" _Emma_!" Snow hissed.

"Why don't you call Mister Principal here and ask him to tell you exactly what happened?" Emma yelled at the woman, ignoring her mother.

"Because _he_ told me that, Sheriff Dark One!"

There was a tense, very tense silence in the classroom. Emma felt dizzy as the voices in the room faded and the voices in her head started to whisper.

 _Come back to me, your moron…_

She was so angry that she didn't even register that some people stood up to defend her. She didn't register her mother leaving the room to get the Principal. She only registered that her impulse to kill someone disappeared when she felt a warm hand on her arm.

"Miss Swan, sit down."

She obeyed. Her knees flexed and she collapsed back on the chair, and the feeling was similar to being controlled by the dagger but with no pain. She felt Regina's perfume intensify. She felt all her senses sharpening as Enchanted Hell broke loose.

XXX

Snow White was speechless.

She watched Regina escort her daughter out of the classroom, and return alone a few minutes later, looking utterly disheveled. She watched Regina recompose and scold the Principal for inciting more animosity between their families.

Yes, Regina used that exact word. _Family._

She watched Regina apologize for _their_ son's behavior. She watched Regina reluctantly but honestly compliment her for the wonderful project about tolerance and other taboo matters.

Then she watched the former Evil Queen stand up and go find the Savior. As she followed, Snow saw her daughter sitting on a bench at the school patio with a presumably remorseful Nadia sitting next to her.

Snow saw Regina stop midway towards the bench when she realized Nadia was already there too; she turned around and started to make her way towards the parking lot.

"Is it over?" Emma asked hoarsely when her mother approached.

"Yes," Snow answered with a tired sigh.

"Where's Regina?"

Snow wanted to scold Nadia when she made a face. "She left," she said, looking at the obnoxious nurse and then back at her daughter. "You should talk to her, Emma."

Emma seemed disappointed, but nodded despite the fact that her girlfriend probably expected her to dismiss the idea.

"I'm going home," Snow said. "Belle messaged me that Neal just woke up. Do you need a ride?"

"I'm standing right here," Nadia said arrogantly.

"Do you need a ride too?" Snow retorted with a worried expression that couldn't deceive a fool.

"I'm walking," Emma grunted.

XXX

"What's the deal with your mom? She's siding with the _Evil Queen_ just to antagonize me?"

Emma kept walking. Anger reignited inside of her, and now Regina was not even there to stop her from doing anything stupid.

"I'm talking to you!"

Emma stopped dead on her tracks. She heard Nadia's breathing hitching on her throat. Usually the sensation wouldn't bother her when they had sex, but now it felt completely different.

"You call my son's mother Evil Queen again and you can scratch my name from your list, Nadia."

The young nurse squeezed her lips guiltily. "I'm sorry, but-"

"My mom is Snow White, my dad's Prince Charming, and my son's mother is Regina Mills. We are a big, noisy, dysfunctional family like every other family. You want a relationship with me? Fine! Keep your shit together and suck it up!"

She had half expected the woman to yell or cry, and deep down Emma was hoping she would discourage Nadia. However, the nurse seemed to go back to her senses… And to think that was the trait Emma had liked most in the beginning…

"You're right."

"I know that."

"Can I offer you a ride home?"

"I prefer to walk, but thanks."

"See you tomorrow?"

Emma sensed the insecurity in her voice; she turned around and nodded.

When the soft roar of the engine faded, the blonde started to move again. She could try to poof, or even conjure the bug, but she felt she needed the exercise. Half an hour later, when she arrived at her empty apartment, great part of the irritation was gone.

There was a small, painful whimper.

 _Emma, please…_

The voice sounded closer and more familiar each day, but it was just as disturbing as the beginning.

She collapsed into bed kicking her boots, and pulled her cellphone from her pocket. It was almost two in the morning when she finally gathered the courage to do it.

Without even considering whether the receiver was sleeping or not, she sent the message.

XXX

Regina was coming back from the kitchen with a glass of water when she noticed the light flashing on her phone. She usually lowered the volume before bed, and it was not a routine to feel thirsty in the middle of the night.

Like fate and coincidence weren't playing enough games with her brain already.

Message from the Barbarian. It said _Hey_.

Regina sat down on the mattress.

 _Go to bed_ , she replied.

 _Can't sleep._

Regina pressed her lips.

 _Try some Xanax._

She could actually picture Emma groaning like a child.

 _I need the promise of great breakfast in the morning, is all._

 _Ask your girlfriend, Miss Swan._

It took about twenty minutes until the final reply slapped the mayor in the face.

 _She doesn't know my favorite. You do._

Regina didn't answer. She couldn't answer.

The reason why she, too, couldn't sleep was the fact that she knew _Emma Swan_ 's favorite breakfast.

Hours before, Regina had held Emma's arm and dragged her to a bench to get her to calm down, but what she saw when she tried to keep her hands still was disturbing and good and bad.

Emma had a fading tattoo on her wrist, one Regina never knew existed until a few hours ago.

It was a dandelion.

It meant the lion's tooth.


	3. Emma

**A/N: I agree with you – jealous Regina is a fantastic little thing. As for jealous Emma? Not so elegant…**

 **Thank you all for the awesome feedback!**

 **:-)**

 **As usual, dedicated to Agatha.**

The intercom on her desk buzzed. She was halfway through an email to the educational board regarding Principal Michaels suspension – and the mere thought of the repercussion was giving her a migraine – so the pause was more than welcome.

" _Sheriff Swan is here, Madam Mayor,_ " said Katherine's voice once Regina picked up.

Okay, the _other_ migraine of the day came to keep the first one company.

"Send her in."

A few seconds later, Emma pushed the door slowly, feeling awkward. Regina had actually messaged her to come, and she was wondering whether it was going to be a long reprimand or just something quick and acid that she would take all day to digest.

The last time she entered Regina's office, she had ignored Katherine and simply moved past her despite her claims of needing to announce her first. She still felt a little embarrassed about the episode, not to mention her entire babbled speech on how she was _over_ Regina.

Seeing her now, behind her desk in a dark suit… Well, there was no way in hell she could ever be over that woman.

"Regina, listen, I was close to a meltdown last night, and I'm sorry if I woke you up… I probably did, so… Sorry about that. Thank you for what you did… at the meeting. I might have killed that woman, and… I would like if we could keep this between us, I mean… Don't tell Henry. Just… Or tell him, I don't know, whatever you think is best. And, huh-"

"Emma?"

The Sheriff's light eyes went wide as she stopped talking. Regina had a tiny, almost imperceptible smile on her deep red lips.

"Have a seat," she said kindly.

 _Oh my God, she's going to fireball my face and eat my heart…_

"I was wondering whether you would like to spend more time with Henry."

So she would keep pretending nothing happened. Smart move, Emma thought.

"Yeah?" she asked, trying to sound curious.

"I know you have shifts off the clock, and I'm aware you tend to gallivant with that nurse when you have a break, but I would like to let you know you can always come to the house and stay with Henry, or pick him up, even if I'm not there. He's your son, too."

Emma was about to throw her fists up in the air, when she realized what this really meant. Regina didn't want her calling, or sending her emails and or sending her messages. She was giving her the green lights to discuss things directly with their son - the only bond they truly had.

"Thanks. I'd like that," she said quietly. What else could she say.

"All right, then. That would be all."

Emma pressed her lips into what should look like a smile, but made her look like she was in pain.

"Okay. Have a good day, Regina," she waved, and left the room.

Minutes later, Katherine entered with a fresh cup of coffee.

"She looked upset."

Regina felt the usual pang in her chest, but dismissed it quickly.

"She's a grown up child, you can't let the puppy eyes get to you."

"I wasn't talking about the puppy eyes," Katherine said. "She seemed… heartbroken," she narrowed her eyes at her boss. "Did you break up with her, Regina?"

"Don't you have emails to answer, phone calls to make, dear?"

"So rude," Katherine stood up, taking no offense in the question. Outside the office, she was pretty much the only friend Regina had, and pretty much the only one who realized the mayor waging wars to keep the Sheriff away.

XXX

" _Ruby!_ "

The waitress raised her eyebrows. "What other reasons you think your princess has to want that girl around? She's horrible, and you know it."

"She's not _horrible_ , she's just… different from what I expected," Snow White mumbled, growing red on the face and ears at Ruby's improper vocabulary.

"A prince?"

"No! I know Emma likes women, I just-" Snow sighed. "She's too… free. And Emma has a son. And her son has another mother. It's a difficult situation, and I think she needed someone more…"

"Like a queen?"

Snow frowned. "I don't like the way your lips twitch, Ruby Lucas. What do you know that I don't?"

"I don't know anything," Ruby laughed and turned to David. "Do you, Charming?"

"I have no idea what you two are talking about," he sipped his beer with a smug smile.

"Will you two stop? What's going on? Why won't you tell me?"

"Perhaps because you can't keep a secret."

Snow turned around with her eyes wide in shock as Regina Mills stared back at her. She took a deep breath and dragged the mayor outside. Oh shit. How on Earth could she _know_? Did Emma tell her? Oh, Emma was so _thick…_

"I'm _so_ sorry, Regina! I know I said I would not, but the only person to whom I briefly, very briefly mentioned it was Emma, and she would never-"

"What are you talking about?" the brunette inquired, feeling oddly uncomfortable.

She entered Granny's with the perspective of buying quick dinner for Henry and her, and casually threw a joke in the wrong conversation. What did she get? A first handed confession from Snow White.

"Emma knows about the pixie dust," she said quietly.

Snow seemed desperate. "Regina, really, why is that such a bad thing?"

Regina sat down very graciously for someone who had the ground ripped from beneath her feet. Her heart was beating fast, awkwardly even. She could not help it. Her life was absolutely controlled, and yet she felt powerless inside a derailing train. Emma Swan was the walking, living proof that Regina's happy ending was going to be a disaster.

"Regina?" Snow asked quietly, sitting down next to her.

"It is a bad thing," she whispered.

"But why? Emma's not a gossiper, she's not… like me."

The mayor chuckled. "I wish. It would be easier to deal with that."

"What could possibly be worse than a big mouth ruining your happiness again?"

"Emma has a… lion… ish… tattoo."

The woman blinked. "She does?"

Regina let out a deep breath as both faced the flowerbeds in silence.

It was ironic and fucked up how they ended up there, their story more entangled than they could ever have believed back in the Enchanted Forest.

"She never told me," Snow said, remembering now that Emma had almost choked on the food when she told her the pixie dust story. Not to mention that Ruby told her about Emma's infatuation for the queen.

"I saw it by accident," Regina explained, as if this could make Snow feel better for not knowing some details in Emma's life.

"So… This means…"

She knew what it meant, and so did Regina.

"It means the author hates me."

"Why would he hate you, Regina?"

"Pair me with the imbecile of your daughter?" Regina snarled with frustration.

"Maybe the author hates _me_."

"Because the world hasn't stopped spinning around you yet?"

"Can you imagine holidays and birthday parties, Regina?" Snow hissed.

"You really have rainbows and butterflies inside your brain, don't you? Dear Lord, this is _not_ going to happen!"

There was another long pause. Snow imagined the weirdness of watching Regina getting married to Emma; she definitively could not walk down the aisle after them and threaten to destroy their happiness even if it was the last thing she did.

She chuckled.

"You're still thinking about it, aren't you?" Regina asked exasperated.

"You don't really hate Emma, do you?"

Regina sighed.

"I try, but you keep beating her on my list."

"If it helps… I wish it was you instead of the nurse."

Regina smiled involuntarily and rolled her eyes. "Please _shut up_."

XXX

Emma looked at the front door for the umpteenth time. It was ten past seven already.

"Where's your mom?" she finally asked, irritated.

Henry punched a few buttons to create a combo of fighting movements, his eyes glued on the TV screen. "She said she was going out after work."

"Going out?"

"I'm gonna finish you, ma. Pay attention!"

"Who she's going out with?" Emma made a lame attempt at a defense move, her eyes going between her son and the screen.

"I don't know. She does that every Thursday after therapy," he said absently minded as his character sent Emma's down the toilet.

" _Does_ she?" Emma snarled. "Well, I don't feel like playing this stupid game anymore. And I'm hungry."

"I thought you loved this game," Henry smirked, turning the console off. "You are a real sore loser, ma. But I'm hungry, too. What you can cook?"

"What makes you think I can cook? We're catching a movie, let's go."

XXX

She decided to send a message to Nadia.

 _I'm at the movie theater with Henry. Guess I'll see you later. Em._

She flipped her phone shut and stuck it on her back pocket while Henry waited on the popcorn line. Grumpily, Emma looked around. Her heart skipped a beat when she spotted Regina a few feet away from them, waiting in line to a different movie.

What a small cluster fuck.

She was still wearing her work clothes, and Emma could have _sworn_ it was her perfume that got her attention in the first place.

Emma actually heard herself growl when a tall guy stopped right next to the mayor and both engaged in conversation. The way Regina smiled and laughed… Oh, that burned her little dark heart…

"C'mon, kid," she snarled. "We're going to see the other movie."

"Why?" Henry spat. "It's something girly that I _definitively_ don't want to watch!"

"Hey, there's no such thing as boyish or girly movie, all movies are interesting!"

"Oh really? You really believe that or you just want to spy on my mom?"

"What?" Emma gasped.

Henry folded his arms and frowned. "You're blushing. I know you saw her."

"Your mom? Here? Oh," Emma turned around and pretended to see Regina for the first time. "What a small world! Let's go say hi!"

"Cut it out, okay? I'm not stupid," Henry said grumpily, refusing to move from the line.

Emma let out a deep, awkward sigh. "Listen-"

"You have Nadia, and she's pretty cool. Why is it bad if my mom has someone, too?"

She didn't answer. Yeah, why couldn't Regina? For a simple crush, she was feeling oddly possessive.

"I wanna watch _this_ movie," Henry pulled her back to the original line. "And I want a large soda."

The blonde paid for food enough to feed an army and waited in silence until they could enter and find their seats. When they were already settled and the lights went out, Henry leaned on her side.

"That was Frederick. He's Katherine's husband. And Katherine was in the popcorn line in front of me. I forgot that my mom told me earlier that they invited her to catch a movie."

Emma sighed, sinking in her armchair as she made a point to ignore her smug son until the final credits disappeared from the screen. Inside her head, she was happy Regina didn't have a boyfriend.

XXX

"That was a little disappointing."

"Why?" Henry asked as they walked towards the bug in the parking lot. "It was your style."

"Oh they do that all the time. Pick a strong girl who needs no one and make her fall in love with a useless piece of shit. Wait for the sequel."

"I don't- Hang on, it's my mom," he picked his phone inside his jacket. "Hi, mom. Yeah, everything's fine… Yeah, okay… I'll ask her," and turning to Emma "My mom asked if you could stay home until she gets there."

Emma nodded. Of _course_ she could stay.

Henry returned to the call. "She said okay. Yeah, you too. Bye."

The blonde had a stupid smile on her face by the time they got to the car. Once they entered the mansion, Emma headed to the kitchen to prepare some tea. Henry watched her with a frown.

"Are you feeling okay?"

"Yeah, why?"

"You're making… Is that apple and ginger tea? My mom drinks that before bed."

"I know, I saw her doing it after we finished installing the new light bulbs in your room that day," Emma smiled. "I thought I'd make her some."

"It's gonna get cold."

"The kettle keeps it warm, kid."

"Yeah, but she's not coming home _now_. She went out for drinks with Katherine, Frederick and Archie."

"And you just tell me _now_?" Emma inquired, holding the tea pot like a grenade.

"Are you upset just because of tea?"

Her son, her own and only son, was using his lie detector on _her!_

"Of course not, I just… well, that's wasted," she poured the tea down the sink.

Henry watched her attentively. She was so much easier to read these days… Almost like an open book compared to the defensive woman he met back in Boston.

"You know what, ma…" he stretched his arms and yawned loudly. "It's getting late and I have school tomorrow, so… I think I might go to bed. You can go if you want, I'll tell mom you tuck me in."

When he disappeared upstairs, she considered crashing in Regina's living room only to make her feel guilty for coming home so late. She knew it was immature, but hell, what she felt was like a teenager with the hormones out of control.

Emma grabbed her jacket and car keys.

 _Come back to me, you moron…_

When she noticed, she was in front of a nice restaurant, like she had been summoned there by the little voice in her head. She confirmed it was the place Regina was when she saw the Mercedes parked a few feet ahead.

It was the second time that night. Like a magnet.

She could see people drinking and having fun through the glass windows. Jazz was playing in the background, mixing up with the sound of laughter.

She had been there with Nadia once, and she had thought the place was simply _Regina_. It was sophisticated, and grown up, and expensive. Nadia hated it, but Emma felt some sort of comfort. She had actually pictured Regina there, smiling, laughing, going to the bathroom to apply more red lipstick…

Emma shook her head, reignited the car and left. She was an asshole. Regina deserved happiness, and if anything, she was the only person who couldn't stand in the way.

When she arrived in her apartment, she noticed Nadia had texted her.

 _Tired. I'm calling it a night. Hope you guys enjoyed the movie. Sleep tight, Swan. Xx_

Emma threw her phone in the couch and decided to do the only thing she _could_ actually do.

Drink until she passed out.

XXX

Emma crossed the street holding Pongo in her arms, breathing hard. That dog might have the weight of a cow, and she did not warm up properly to run that early in the morning with a hangover.

Archie was grinning from ear to ear, but Emma looked disgruntled at the therapist. Of course he was grinning like that. He had a date with Regina last night. Who wouldn't be grinning like the biggest, luckiest bastard in the world?

"I'm sorry, Emma, I'll definitely go find a better leash for him."

"Stupid bug," she muttered walking towards the cruiser where her father was waiting, smiling with sympathy at her.

"Hey! Emma?" Archie called out again.

Rolling her eyes, she spun on her boots and looked at him. "What?"

Archie made a few steps towards her. "Listen… This is not going to sound good, but I mean well. As a friend."

 _A friend who goes behind her back and steals the woman she loves?_

Wait. Love?

"Emma-"

"Look, cricket, you don't owe me anything, okay?"

It was not even like what she felt for Regina was public information.

"I know how you feel about her."

Okay, so _maybe_ it was a little public because she was stupid and could not hide her emotions.

"It doesn't matter how I feel," Emma said, realizing just how much that was true. It didn't matter. Regina had her right to run away from stupid pre-destined love and pick whoever she wanted. It had been Robin, now Archie, maybe there would be a new guy someday. It didn't matter. "I just want her to be happy. But if you break her heart, I'm gonna kill you."

He frowned, tilting his head much like Pongo did. "Okay, now I'm _sure_ I should say what I want to say."

Did he want to burst her bubble once and for all? Was he about to tell her to get out of the way and move on? Was he going to remind her that she actually had a girlfriend?

 _Wait a minute, he looks like he's sorry…_

Was he going to propose to her? Emma wanted to vomit and die a little bit. Wasn't it illegal to sleep with a patient?

The thought of Regina sleeping with anyone else was…

"Emma, are you okay?" he asked hesitantly as the blonde looked more and more like she was about to explode. "You're… red."

"Just get on with that, Archie," she hissed. It would hurt anyway.

Archie almost smiled. "I know why you're mad at me." He definitively needed to wipe out that smile from his face, or Emma would have to punch him. "I saw you in front of the restaurant that night. It's a _yellow_ car, after all."

Emma folded her arms defiantly, but in reality she wanted the ground to crack open under her feet so she could disappear.

"I was the only one who noticed, by the way. I invited Miss Mills, Katherine and Frederick to meet my date. It was the first time in years I went out with a woman, and I was really nervous, so… Regina helped me a lot to prepare for it, but I still felt like I needed a hand from my friends. And just so you know, Laura was really impressed, and next time I go out with her, you should come too."

"Huh…?" Emma mumbled, feeling more awkward with each passing second.

"Let's say you're… famous," Archie pressed his lips into a polite smile. "Thanks again for bringing Pongo back. Have a good day, Sheriff."

"Is everything okay, Em?" David asked when she slumped down the passenger seat.

"I don't know."

He handed her ibuprofen and coffee as he had promised. "Do you wanna talk about it?"

"Probably not."

"Do you wanna grab a beer at Granny's later?"

"Yes, thanks. Nothing like a new hangover to heal the previous one. Let me just cancel with Nadia-"

"Oh, no, I don't want to interrupt your plans-"

"It's okay, she won't mind. I'll just ask her to meet me there instead."

XXX

She minded.

It was the third time something more important happened that week.

First it was some absurd amount of paperwork Regina demanded from Emma that she would have to stay at work after hours. Then there was the incident with Henry and his lab project exploding his bedroom window.

Now her father wanted to talk to her. Emma _worked_ with him, all day, every day.

Nadia sighed. She had agreed to go to Granny's instead of the fancy restaurant she had booked for them about a month ago, but now she felt like staying home with a beer and watching a movie by herself.

She was trying to impress Emma with that choice of restaurant. She could even try and be more sophisticated, or even act more like an adult, but well, that was not who she was.

Emma had liked her, the way she was. But then she remembered that her competition was always so many steps ahead… On high heels.

Emma called her about three times when she didn't show up. Then she sent her a generic, mindless goodnight note.

Nadia knew she didn't stand a chance against Regina, but she had to try.

XXX

"It's like you live here, now."

Emma looked up from the TV. She was there since… morning?

"I was fixing your blender, Regina," she deadpanned.

"Which _you_ broke!"

"Yeah, sorry about that," Emma admitted nervously, standing up and grabbing her jacket.

Sometimes it was hard to breath next to that woman.

"Where are you going?"

"Home."

"Stay for dinner. There's too much food for only two people," she added with a harsher voice.

A pause. Her heart was thudding a thousand miles per second.

"Okay."

They ate in silence, and Henry went to a sleepover with his friends after dinner. Emma stayed to help with the dishes. Emma stayed for a glass of cider. She missed a call from Nadia.

They sat next to each other on the kitchen porch. Regina had a beautiful backyard, Emma noticed. The hot summer breeze carried the scent of the flowers to her nose, and she realized all the scents in that house were like her happy place. She fixed her eyes on a half built gazebo in the dark, but she could sense the brunette looking at her.

"Robin started that."

"I can finish."

Implications.

Anything they said to each other was full of meaning, now, and Emma always felt like their fragile bond would snap at any minute.

"Why did you guys broke up?"

Regina sighed, holding her glass as she stared blankly at the half-gazebo. "I know your mother told you about the pixie dust."

"Yeah. I hope you're not mad that I know about it."

"I'm not. Anymore," Regina added. "Well, maybe I created too many expectations because it was pixie dust, after all. He was a nice guy, very neat and polite for a man who lived in the woods. His son was adorable, and he could build a gazebo from scratch… but that was not enough. It was just like being with a regular person. I didn't feel any-"

 _Goosebumps_ , Regina thought. Like the ones she got when she saw a certain imbecile carrying a piece of heavy furniture. Or like the ones she felt whenever the same imbecile was around. Or even like the ones she was trying to hide at that very moment as the imbecile lent her hideous red leather jacket.

"You're cold," Emma muttered when she refused it. "C'mon, I shower every day."

Regina was more worried about being too close to that imbecile scent than anything.

"But I know what you mean," the blonde went on. "About feeling like the other person is just… ordinary."

"You do?"

Emma shrugged.

"So… You had a… _crush_ on me."

Regina almost laughed when the blonde looked like she might have a heart attack; Emma chuckled nervously.

"I did."

Pause.

"What happened?" Regina asked quietly.

"Oh," Emma actually considered it, not really sure why Regina was interested in that story after so long. "I don't… You hated me the second you knew who I was, so… It was kinda hard to keep you on a pedestal when you were trying to kill me all the time. But then we became friends. Sort of. And I thought it would be weird. And we had Henry to consider, I mean… Would he even _want_ us together? In the same house?"

Regina watched Emma talk, and the way she gesticulated; she could almost _see_ how the train of thought was processed inside her brain. How she pictured them, like a family. She pictured everything, like a true Snow-Charming's daughter.

"-but then Gazebo boy shoot an arrow in my face, you know?" Emma laughed. Regina noticed it was the first time Emma laughed in days. "That was the moment I knew… I needed a break from the cliché of falling for a straight woman who had a decent boyfriend."

"Falling?" Regina whispered.

Fuck.

Run.

Emma stood up.

"It's late. I should probably-"

"So you actually entertained the idea?" the brunette asked when Emma was at the kitchen door. "You considered it, but didn't even consider telling _me_?"

Emma was sick of that game, but she really wanted to leave. However, something about that perfume and Regina's voice kept her rooted on her spot. Groaning, she looked back at the angry queen, but all she could see was Henry's beautiful mom.

"We don't even talk about how you saved me that night! But yeah, I did! I considered it. For a couple of years, now. And maybe I tried to tell you many times, but you were too busy yelling at me to notice!"

"Does that include telling me you have a tattoo on your wrist?"

Emma closed her eyes. So Regina knew. Phenomenal fuck.

"Regina, it's just a stupid flower-"

"It's not just a flower, and you know it, Emma!"

Maybe it had been the cider, or maybe it had been the sound of her name rolling out of Regina's lips.

"I was planning on _never_ telling you about this, because you know what? Fate, destiny, whatever you wanna call it… It's been fucking us around for _too_ long… _Fate_ kept you trapped in a ridiculous marriage, and forced you to be with people you hated. _Fate_ separated me from my parents. And I really, really don't care if it was fucking _fate_ what brought us all together. Because you know… True love and happy endings are about freedom. If you are going to end up with me one day, Regina… I want it to be because you chose me. Not because I have a stupid tattoo."


	4. Stupid savior

**I'm overwhelmed with the feedback. Thank YOU, awesome readers! I apologize in advance because this chapter is shorter than the others, but chapter 5 won't be long :-)**

 **savior**

"So," Ruby frowned. "Why is there… banana peelon your jacket?"

The diner was empty except for the two women. They sat across from each other on the counter, with only one light above their heads.

"I fucked up," Emma removed it, sipping her beer, replaying in her head the pathetic moment she stormed out of Regina's house after her ridiculous love declaration. "I tripped on the sidewalk, then tried to poof to my apartment, and ended up on top of the trash cans around the corner. It was an epic fail altogether."

"Oh, Emma!" Ruby laughed, covering her mouth with both hands.

"I'm a fuck up, what did you expect?"

"But _how?"_ she rolled her eyes. "I mean, it was a given! The odds were at your favor and you screwed up!"

Emma narrowed her eyes. "Did you go watch Hunger Games too?"

"Yes, Henry told me you guys went and didn't invite me. Not the point here, because I already forgave you. I mean, did you _ever_ see her face when you arrive _anywhere_ with Nadia?"

"It's the same face she always put on to _me_ when I arrive alone anywhere! How was I supposed to know the difference?"

"Emma…" Ruby sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. "Regina bought you breakfast! Your favorite! Because you were on night shift! She came here at five thirty in the morning and actually asked for help!"

Emma narrowed her eyes. "You never told me this."

"My bad. I think I told your mom. Anyway," she shook her head when Emma opened her lips to protest. "You ruined it because you went all mature on her, and now Regina will take another year to stop being afraid of a love life, and you're gonna be together only in the next century after about three curses and one flood!"

"What?"

"Why couldn't you just kiss her, woman?"

Emma didn't answer. She stared down at her drink, twisting her bottle on her fingers.

"Well, as your friend and godmother, I'll help you through this, okay?"

"Because you are an expert in the area?" she grunted with sarcasm.

"Just because I ate my boyfriend, it doesn't mean I don't understand about love!" and as Emma ignored her "You know what you have to do now, don't you?"

"Yeah, I know, Ruby."

A pause.

"You need to break up with that pain in the ass," Ruby said.

"I _know_!"

"Good," she resumed drying the glasses with a piece of cloth. "Just wanted to make sure you got that."

XXX

It was about three in the morning when Emma finally managed to get out from Nadia's house. She had kept it simple along the lines of 'I'm sorry' and 'I'm not in love with you', but Nadia made a point to let Emma know the only reason why their relationship never took off was because she was still in love with her ex.

Emma wondered how little she knew about Nadia. No one in Storybrooke thought they were together before. Nadia might have come in a different curse – maybe Zelena's – but she thought now it was too late to ask.

"Regina and I were never together."

The nurse tilted her head and started to laugh. "Oh my God…" her voice was nasal from crying, but now it sounded like she had a bad cold. "Then go ahead and _be_ with her! You need to be. Otherwise, this nonsense of unresolved past sounds just like… _crazy_."

"It was never like that."

"It looked a lot like that."

"I'm sorry. I really am."

The young girl looked up at her, a few tears still dangling from her long lashes. She was beautiful even with that sad smile on her face. "Get out of here, Swan."

It was chilly on the streets. Emma wanted to disappear and appear under her warm blanket, but she knew her mind was too full to concentrate on that, and her jacket still smelled of garbage a little. She heard a distant bark, and for a second she wondered if Ruby was stalking her, but then a black and white form began to draw near and she recognized Pongo.

He jumped on her, wiggling his tail and licking her face as she reluctantly crouched to give him some attention.

"What are you doing out here alone, buddy? It's late-"

Then she heard soft laughter and saw two figures approaching them. Considering how Pongo barked excitedly, it could only be Archie and… Yes, the girlfriend. Which was _not_ Regina.

They were walking arm in arm, all smiles at each other.

"Good morning, Sheriff," he said. "We realized early walks calm him down."

"So you are famous Emma Swan," Laura took a step forward and stretched a hand. Emma recognized the woman from the bookstore; Henry could spend _hours_ in there. "It's a pleasure to meet you at last, Sheriff."

"Likewise," Emma offered a smile and then winked at Archie, who turned beet red and started to sputter.

"I'll go… See if Pongo…"

"The mayor spoke so much about you that it felt like I knew you already," Laura said with a knowing smirk. "Are you available to move a few bookcases in my store? I heard you're capable of hoisting heavy furniture, being the savior and all."

Emma chuckled uncomfortably, feeling her heart accelerate with the confirmation of what Archie had insinuated. Then she went serious.

"She referred to me as the… savior?"

"With a bit of mocking sarcasm, it's true, but she also used an expression that made me laugh _so_ much! What was it again, Archie?"

He spoke from a distance. "Something like a Viking with – huh…"

"A barbarian?" Emma suggested.

"Yeah! Barbarian with the gorgeous smile," Archie said, bringing Pongo on the leash and stopping next to them.

That made Emma want to kiss Regina so bad that the second she realized it, Archie, Laura and Pongo disappeared, and she was in front of 108 on Mifflin Street.

"Now you decided to work…"

XXX

"Oh! You two look _so_ adorable in navy blue!" Snow squeaked when she saw her husband and her daughter wearing matching uniforms. "Stand still, let me take a picture-!"

"Mom, no!" Emma groaned.

"C'mon, it's not so bad," David gave her a one-arm hug as he held baby Neal on the other arm for the picture. He was all smiles.

"She only did this to piss me off," Emma said, referring to the Town Hall letter demanding that they wore it for the Parade.

"I have an idea," he winked at her and returned a moment later with a hairband and his aviators. "Put these on. I saw it on TV."

"I know what you're trying to do, and it's not gonna work. I mean, Storybrooke's Parade?"

"It's to celebrate the end of the Dark One curse, grouchy officer," Snow said laughing, filling a gigantic basket with sandwiches. "I made all my students rehearse for it every day this year, and there's no way this family is not going! One of my youngest ones is playing a sort of mix between you and Lord Voldemort."

Emma rolled her eyes.

"What about Henry?" David asked, passing Neal to his wife.

"I'm picking him up right now, his mother must be busy rehearsing for the speech," she said with a grimace. "Or stirring her cauldron as she laughs at others' misery."

Charming noticed the exaggerated harshness in her voice, and exchanged a worried look with Snow. When she left, they stood in silence for a moment.

"They'll come around," David said.

"I'm beginning to think they need some sort of intervention. This is getting ridiculous."

"Look at you, all supportive," he grinned." I mean, our daughter, _Regina_ …"

"I met Regina before all this," she said quietly. "Emma gave her Henry, and brought love to her life, there's no denying in that. And Regina… I saw the sixteen young woman again when she brought Emma back after the Dark One curse. I don't know how Regina did that, but she saved Emma from evil, like Emma did her. Well, even if I had a say in this, I would never oppose to that. They both hate it, but they're living proof of everything you and I believe is true. They found each other."

David grinned. "Save that for the wedding toast."

Snow laughed. "I'd love to rub that to Regina's face."

XXX

Emma parked the Cruiser in front of 108 Mifflin Street, and let out a deep breath. It had been three weeks since she made her disastrous love declaration. She should have been better prepared for that moment, but is that even possible?

Regina was not only mad but also pretending Emma didn't even exist.

Emma marched towards the doorbell tying her hair into a tall ponytail and putting on the sunglasses. What a rejected heart could make you do…

"You are late-"

Regina stopped dead on her tracks, dressed impeccably but only halfway through with the makeup. She blinked, holding the mascara flask.

"Is Henry ready to go?" Emma asked, ignoring the baffled look she was receiving.

"I'll… I'll get him for you," Regina said slightly confused, trying to recompose herself as she went upstairs. She cursed under her breath for the goosebumps, wondering if they would ever be going to stop.

Henry smiled at her when she appeared all flushed on his doorway.

"When you're gonna tell her, mom?"

"Henry-"

"But she broke up with Nadia for you, and I don't-"

"Please, not now. I can't do it right now."

"I know, I know. You look pretty, don't be nervous. I'll meet you there."

"That's why I love you," Regina kissed the top of his head.

Henry sprang downstairs, almost bumping into his other mom outside. He grinned widely when he saw Emma. She looked awesome in the navy blue uniform, not to mention the badass look with the aviators and the hair. It took him only a second to understand she had done that on purpose, to impress his mom.

"It worked," he said simply as they entered the Cruiser.

"I don't know what movies David's been watching, but I'll thank him later for that."

"You _don't_?"

Emma grinned a little full of herself. "I was thinking along the lines of Rookie Blue, but I don't know for sure."

"Really? 'cause I'm sure he watched Miss Congeniality at least three times last week. You laugh with that pig snort like her, sometimes."

"Oh, be quiet!"

XXX

Regina had made many pronouncements in her life, either in the Enchanted Forest or Storybrooke, but never had it meant so much like this.

The whole town had come. Each inhabitant had left their house to participate and ultimately, hear what Regina Mills had to say.

She started simple, with plans and projects for the new landscape of Storybrooke, the recapping of the streets, the force task needed from the two officers – at this moment she looked down her cheat paper only to avoid finding Charming or Swan in the middle of the crowd.

"I would like to bring up a matter we never discussed before," she said, and now it was visible she was completely out of her comfort zone. She looked straight at Snow. "Darkness was contained once again, and that happened because Sheriff Swan fought bravely for it. Any reference to her as the current Dark One will be considered contempt, but I would like if you all could look at it only as respect towards the town's -"

Imbecile. Savior. Idiot. Hero.

"-sheriff," she finished after what seemed like a long pause.

There was a mortifying silence on the main street. Emma stared at Regina with her mouth hanging open. As Regina faced the entire crowd like she had forgotten what to say next, Snow jumped on the podium with Neal and took the microphone.

"Which leads us to the next topic. The new school project, signed by me, Mayor Mills and the other members of the Educational Court, is aiming to help-"

Emma was no longer listening. Apparently, babbling was a family trait. All she could think about was Regina, who had managed to look even more beautiful in a summer dress and a hat. For a second she thought the mayor acknowledged her ogling and drooling, because she could have _sworn_ she caught a small smile on the corner of Regina's red lips…

XXX

A week later, Emma was sitting in front of a fan. The station felt like hell, and the new uniforms were something made out of Satan's fur. David put a glass of ice cubes on her desk as he passed by her unbuttoning the collar of his shirt.

"Next time you pronounce your undying love for Regina, make sure it's winter."

"Funny," Emma grunted, picking up the ringing phone. "Storybrooke Police Station."

" _You should work on that greeting line. It sounds like you're dying._ "

Emma growled internally. "Good afternoon, Madam Mayor."

" _We'll see about that. Come here immediately. The paperwork you sent is all incomplete, and now I can't account for the expenses of the Station._ "

"Maybe you should spend less money on uniforms," Emma spat, hanging up right after. "Heartless woman," she grunted, and the walls and ceilings of the station froze.

"Emma!" David laughed, clapping his hands. "Why do we forget so often you can do magic? Look at this, I'm even a little cold already!"

He was grinning from ear to ear, but Emma knew it was only because he had loved the uniform.

"Ass kisser," she snarled, walking out of the station with her ice cubes. It was very atypically hot in Storybrooke. In four years, she never experienced summer like this.

When she arrived at the front desk of Town Hall, Katherine eyed her from head to toe. She had a smirk on her lips when she turned around to announce Emma over the phone.

"The Sheriff's here."

" _Send her in_."

"Go ahead, Sheriff."

"Thanks."

Emma let out a deep breath before going in.

She had expected the office to be packed with paper stashes and boxes with more paper stashes. However, all she found was Regina's very neat mahogany desk, with a small wooden box in the middle. Emma recognized that; Regina had many of them down in her vault.

Regina squirmed slightly under her desk when she saw Emma. She might never get over that uniform fever.

"Hello, Emma."

The blonde frowned. What was that with the velvet voice? Regina didn't even look like the bitch Emma spoke to on the phone ten minutes ago.

"What's going on?"

"I wanted to show you this," she pushed the box towards the sheriff. She had finally told her secret to Henry, and he had encouraged her to tell Emma.

"Are you ripping out my heart for talking back?"

"I already did that" and as Emma's eyes bulged " _Not_ for talking back, for God's sake!" she said with an impatient eye roll.

"How did you rip out my heart without me noticing?"

"Can you remember anything about the night we got rid of the Darkness and your name was erased from the dagger?"

Emma stopped to consider it for a while. "Vaguely. I remember we were… in your… vault."

"Yes, we were. That's where we found you after you disappeared in the middle of the street."

"Is my heart-?" she pointed the box hesitantly. Regina nodded. Emma sat down and opened it. It was a regular sized heart, but with the texture of charcoal; it didn't beat or glow anymore, and it looked like one touch would make it crumble.

"Your heart took in all the darkness there was. There's evil accumulated for centuries in there," Regina explained.

"Holy shit," Emma watched it intently.

"And your mother scolded me for calling you an idiot-"

Emma stood up. "But… How come I didn't die?"

Regina let out a shaky breath, and when she spoke, her voice was thick. "You did."


	5. Hot Sheriff

_**I used to like cliffhangers, now I am nicer. Enjoy :-)**_

Emma blinked several times.

Her heart was inside a box.

Why was it hammering her ribcage as if it wanted to break free from her chest?

She unbuttoned the uniform shirt and removed it, exposing a white tank that had seen better days. She flattened her hand against her sternum and looked at Regina. She felt the heartbeat. She was genuinely in love with that woman before her. It was not possible that she did not have a heart.

"But… _How_?" she whispered.

Regina went back to that day, about six months ago.

Emma had basically forced a friendship to squeeze past the categories of 'enemies' and 'awkward co-parents'. She would follow Regina everywhere trying to find the Snow Queen in the forest, babbling incessantly about how she deserved a happy ending, and how she, the stupid savior, would make sure that happened.

She knew that Emma felt bad about Marian, but Regina was angrier with the fact that Captain Guyliner had been there too, and she was sure it was his fault that something went wrong, and that they were ultimately forced to bring Marian because he provoked it. She took comfort in blaming him sometimes.

But even after Marian was nothing but Zelena in disguise, Regina noticed she was spending more time with Emma than with Robin, even after they arrested her wicked sister. She had to, after all Emma needed an evil push from time to time to work her magic, and Regina had the idea that everyone could do a better job under pressure.

The idiot stepped into a spiral of darkness to save her. The idiot disappeared in the middle of the street. The idiot's name appeared in the dagger. Snow White took it from the Handless Wonder and gave it to Regina. _Let's split up and find Emma,_ she had said.

Involuntarily, Regina had moved towards her safety zone. She thought that subconsciously she meant to keep the dagger safe there; what she couldn't have imagined was that Emma Swan would be fumbling and scavenging every drawer she could touch inside her vault.

She turned around when she heard Regina. Her eyes went wide when she saw she was holding the dagger. "Please, take it off! Please, Regina!" she screamed in pain.

"Take what off?" Regina asked desperately, trying to hold her still. And then she stopped breathing. In Regina's arms.

"Emma?" the brunette lowered her to the marble floor, and panic hit when she realized her name started to fade from the dagger. "EMMA?"

Emma Swan was gone. She wasn't moving or talking, or being obnoxious around her with that horrible red jacket. Her savior's heart was dead, frozen in darkness, and Emma was just _gone_.

Regina felt so much pain for that sudden loss that she didn't even have time to think of the meaning of what she was about to do...

The mayor eventually found her voice. "Once I… watched your mother do the same to your father. When we tried to re-enact the curse to come back from the Enchanted Forest."

The minute it clicked, Emma heard the crying. The distant crying that called her name, now clear as daylight…

" _Come back to me, you moron… Please, Emma… Come back…"_

"It was you," she whispered after a long time.

Regina wanted to know so many things about that day… Why did she sacrifice for her? Why was it so important to save her, the evil queen? But she didn't ask. There was another long pause, then Emma looked up at her again with her eyes reddened.

"Why?"

"Why?" Regina repeated like she couldn't believe the question. "Because you were _dead_ , and I could not… I just could not-" she quickly wiped a solitary, thick tear away as she recollected the moment.

Emma swallowed the lump that was burning in her throat. And for once, Regina could not even scold her for the rants because, for once, Emma was unable to speak.

It was decided by them, not fate. It was decided the moment Emma looked at Regina for the first time, oblivious to curses and fairytales. It was decided the moment Regina gave half of her heart to Emma, unaware that she was the bearer of the lion tattoo.

Emma stared at Regina for a long moment, longer than she ever allowed herself to stare, and her voice was weak when she spoke.

"You love me too."

"Emma-"

"Is that why you acted like you really despised me? So I wouldn't know? Trust me, you totally got me."

"Emma-"

"You broke up with him because of me."

"Emma, _shut up!_ " Regina exclaimed, stopping in front of the sheriff, who was now sitting on the edge of the desk with her perfect arms folded. Her eyes, too, were slightly puffy. "I'm trying to do something here!"

Emma let out a wet chuckle and grinned widely. "What, hate me all the way back so you don't have to-?"

Regina took one more step. "Just shut up."

The amused grin vanished from Emma's face. She was receiving permission. She saw Regina´s lips quiver, and she never looked more beautiful. Emma stood bolt upright, pulled Regina to her and finally, finally kissed her.

It felt like all the year's seasons, it felt like inhaling her favorite scents, all in once. Fireworks burned the back of her brain and after what felt like many, many years in the kissing timeline, Emma retreated slightly to breathe. She rested her forehead against Regina's, and ran the tip of her finger on the exposed skin above the collar of her tank.

"Thank you," she whispered, closing her eyes.

Regina let out a deep sigh as the younger woman stuck her face against the curve of her neck. It was a relief to feel her warm and alive against her skin when her last memory was of Emma's last breath.

"You smell nice," said her muffled voice.

"That's called hygiene," the brunette said, but with a giant grin that could light up the entire town.

"That's contempt, Madam Mayor," Emma said, pulling away from her with a serious face that couldn't fool the dumbest creature. "I'm afraid I'll have to arrest you."

Regina blushed furiously when she saw Emma wiggle a pair of handcuffs; the goosebumps were throwing a party in her body.

"You _are_ a barbarian, Emma Swan."

"Yeah, but at least I have a gorgeous smile."

Regina's eyes became tiny black slits. "I'm glad you're all smart today, Sheriff. Sit down. We have paperwork to finish."

"What? We just had, like, a huge moment here!"

"Which you ruined with your handcuffs and an attempt at dirty talk."

"But you love me!" Emma argued, unable to keep a straight face.

"Sit down. Paperwork first, Emma. If you did things when I _told_ you to do them-"

"But you love me, right?"

Regina looked at her straight in the eyes, then her chest, then her eyes again, like someone who says _What do you think?_

Oh, she fought hard against the idiotic butterflies whenever Emma looked at her like that… She fought her best, and those exact blue eyes defeated her.

Regina smiled, threw a stash of paper at Emma's direction and called Katherine on the intercom to bring the rest of the reports.

The secretary entered with a small cart, and pulled it softly across the rug. She held back a smirk when she noticed her boss trying to look casual in the middle of the palpable sexual tension.

Regina mumbled something about forgetting folders in her car. Katherine looked at Emma.

"What's up?" Emma asked with a goofy smile as she slumped down a chair.

"Red lipstick," the blonde said, making a circular movement with her index finger. "All over your face."

"Oh," the sheriff blushed, reaching out for paper tissues on Regina's desk. "Shit."

XXX

"We need food," the blonde muttered.

Regina fumbled through the infinite amount of paper on her desk until she found her blazer. She watched Emma discreetly, who looked adorable with the disheveled hair and lipstick smudges. Not to mention the arms. _God_ , her arms _…_ And her _hands_ … Emma was supposed to be clumsy…

"Did Henry call?" Regina asked her, tucking her shirt inside her skirt. It was about eight, and Katherine had left hours ago, right after they found the damn report.

"Twice. He's at my parents," Emma said, reading his text message. She looked up at Regina, and her heart fluttered with the sight. The brunette was even sexier with her hair in a messy bun, without any lipstick left to tell the story and a few buttons of her shirt undone. "Do you wanna go eat with me?"

Her words were careful. Regina considered it carefully; her heart was pounding in too many different places of her body that it took her a while to concentrate on the fact that her son's mother was asking her out.

"Don't you want to include Henry in that invitation?"

"He said he was going to crash at my parents'. If that's okay," Emma added, growing red on the face the second she realized it was going to be just the two of them for the first time.

Regina seemed to be thinking along the same lines. "He can stay, if he wants."

"I'll tell him," Emma said, typing on her phone, walking towards the double doors nervously as Regina passed by her with _that_ hip move that drove her nuts every time.

It was one thing to fool around inside the mayor's office, discard some clothes and kiss like there was no tomorrow. It was something else entirely to have dinner and, eventually, spend the night with Regina.

The hormonal teenager inside her was screaming at the perspective. It was the first time in her life that a mere possibility turned her on so fast.

Emma hurried to the car before Regina could see her face. The weather outside was fresh, a little cold even. She waited for Regina to unlock the Mercedes, then she climbed on the passenger seat, folding her uniform carefully because she didn't know what to do with her hands.

"This is temporary, right?" she asked, while the brunette fastened her seatbelt, pointing the navy blue shirt on her lap.

"Of course not," Regina said, igniting the car. "We want people taking you and Charming seriously."

"But they do! _Mostly_ ," Emma added when the other woman gave her a scornful look.

"I'll make sure they're more… _adequate_ to the temperature."

Emma didn't miss the smirk on her lips. "You had something to do with it, didn't you?" 

"I have absolutely no idea what you're talking about," she said, maneuvering towards Main Street.

"You just wanted to see my muscles. Admit it, Regina."

That idiot was impossible.

Regina parked in front of Granny's, grabbed her purse on the back seat and looked at Emma. "Well, what if I _do_ like to look at your muscles?"As Emma didn't move, Regina squeezed her shoulder and deliberately took a few seconds to let go. "Not hungry anymore, dear?"

The blonde cursed under her breath when Regina exited the car; that woman affected her, and she knew it. Emma unfastened her seatbelt and got out, joining her at the flowery archway and towards the doorstep.

In silence, she opened the door for the mayor, and when the tiny bell rang, the diner went silent.

" _You have lipstick on your neck_ ," Regina said through clenched teeth.

"Fuck-"

Emma had sometimes the mannerism of a Neanderthal, but Regina just couldn't help herself. The way her voice oscillated, the way she moved and grunted, the way her hands had travelled across her every curve that afternoon… The mayor crossed her legs tightly when she sat down on their booth.

She groaned when Ruby Lucas stopped in front of their tables, pencil and pad on one hand, a shit eating grin on her face as she noticed Emma rubbing her neck relentlessly.

"You should go to the bathroom. You'll find makeup remover under the sink," she said to Emma with a wink, loud enough for only Regina to hear besides them. "What can I get for you on the meantime, Madam Mayor?"

Regina sighed.

XXX

Regina parked on the driveway of 108 Mifflin Street. It was about eleven p.m. and Emma had refused a ride home. She sighed and rolled her eyes. That imbecile was going to be the death of her.

She put the car on reverse and decided to make the way back to Granny's, but she located Emma only a few blocks away.

"You didn't want a ride so you could _race_ me to my house?" Regina asked. "That's juvenile."

"I was trying to practice that poofing shit," Emma said breathlessly. "I ended up at your doorstep, so I was heading home before you got there, because that would've been weird. Wait a minute," she looked at Regina with a smirk. "You were going back to Granny's to find me, weren't you? Oh that is so weird and sweet!"

Regina rested her head on the backrest of the seat, avoiding Emma's eyes. "Get in the car."

"I don't want you to drive me home."

"And why not?"

"Because that's not how I pictured our first date. It always ended at your doorstep, not mine."

Regina looked a little surprised, although she should get used to Emma's unexpected romantic side at some point. The sheriff shrugged, almost as if reading her mind. She thought about it more often than it was appropriate, even when she was still with Nadia.

"Well, that wasn't a date," Regina said with a lot of dignity for someone who had been grinding against the sheriff on top of a large desk and then had spent the last three hours virtually squeezing her legs tightly under the diner table whenever Emma's knee touched hers.

The blonde's face fell. "I… I know that, it's just-"

"For that reason, maybe you should call me when you get home so that we can arrange that," Regina said.

Emma smiled, taking a daring step towards her window. They were in the middle of the street. "I'll call you."

Regina smiled discreetly. "Please, be careful."

The sheriff leaned in her direction; she felt Regina's breath hitch against her lips. It was a quick kiss, but it felt like the most wonderful second of her life. She took a step back and grinned.

"Night, Regina."

XXX

Regina picked her phone with a reluctant smile.

"You walk fast."

She heard a creaking chuckle.

" _I poofed._ "

Regina's smile grew wider. "Lazy."

" _You taught me that!_ "

"Well, congratulations are in order, as you finally learned to get to the correct destination."

" _Never mind that. I wanna go out with you._ "

She sat down on her bed, removing her silk robe. "Did you convince the nurse just by saying that?"

Emma laughed again. Bastard. She usually missed the point in several obvious statements, but to get the hint of jealousy over the phone? Fast as a bullet.

" _Will you go out with me sometime this week?"_

Regina sighed with the goosebumps. Since when her voice sounded so husky on the phone? "You didn't answer my question."

" _You didn't answer mine._ "

Regina fell comfortably against her pillows. "Yes, dear."

" _I'll send a dove with the details._ "

She laughed, like she didn't laugh in a long time. "Good night, Emma."

" _Sleep well_."

XXX

Henry pushed the door open carefully. He stuck his head in the entrance hall, looking around before completely getting inside.

"Mom?" he called tentatively, hating the possibility of walking into something absolutely gross and traumatic.

"In the kitchen."

Oh good. She was awake. Henry stopped by the archway and looked carefully. Regina was involved in her silk robe, drinking coffee while she read a newspaper. There was a whole grain bagel sitting on her plate and a jar of jelly next to it, but that was all. Henry was expecting at least six different paper bags from Granny's.

"I'm sorry about yesterday, honey," Regina beckoned him towards her, kissing his cheek the second he was within reach. "I missed you so much!"

"I missed you too, mom," he said awkwardly, looking around as if someone would burst out from a cabinet or the pantry. "Where's-?"

Regina raised one eyebrow. She knew her son, and she knew what he was thinking, but she was not sure she wanted to have that conversation with him. At least not this early, before she even finished her coffee.

"So, how was dinner with the Charmings?"

"It was okay. They let me feed baby Neal with mashed potatoes."

"Oh, that's lovely!" Regina said with heavy sarcasm. "Raising a _second_ inelegant glutton in the family!"

"How was the date with the first?"

Regina's eyes went wide with horror at her son's quick mouth. "Henry! We were… doing paperwork!"

He smirked behind a comic book he just bought on his way back home. "How was paperwork? Did you figure it out the missing report?"

"Yes, we… we did. Your mother is very disorganized, that's all," she deadpanned, going back to her newspaper.

When she finally lowered her guard and actually started to waltz across the kitchen to start cleaning it for lunch, Henry observed the involuntary smile on his mother's lips, and the way she had twisted her hair into a very messy bun. She was barefoot, humming something under her breath, and she looked a lot younger without any make up on.

He discreetly snapped a picture of her and sent it to Emma.

 _She's SINGING. What did you do?_

XXX

Emma stared at her cellphone for one hour straight. God bless the sun rays entering Regina Mills' kitchen.

She hadn't slept at all that night. Instead, she spent it lying on her couch, watching re-runs with her hand on top of her chest. She wanted to nurse, to protect that heart for the rest of her life.

She didn't feel aggravated or threatened by their son's message, but the acknowledgement made her disappear from her living room and appear in her kitchen three times in a row, like a hiccup crisis.

Once she got her temperamental magic under control, Emma went for a cold shower, because she could not get her horny brain under the same control. Regina's waist, and legs, and hips, and cleavage, and the warm, soft skin of her neck, and the way she pressed her thighs together under the table… and the way she sighed in her ear…

She nearly got electrocuted when the shower's cable simply _melted_ and fell on the water pooled around her bare feet. Jumping like crazy and swearing like a sailor, Emma grabbed a towel and wiped her wet face as she stared at the damage.

The wall was blackened, and the scorched tiles crumbled down one by one.

"Great," Emma grunted, turning off the power of the apartment before there was a fire in her bathroom.

She put on some used clothes and tried to ponder where she could go for help. If she went to Bed & Breakfast, Ruby would interrogate her. If she went to her parents, they would _definitely_ interrogate her. So she decided to go to the station, where she could be free of judgement for one hour before her shift started. She wanted to keep that delicious secret to herself only for a little longer before the news spread like wildfire.

She entered the bug and drove the calm streets of Storybrooke, appreciating the trees and the birds with a stupid smile on her face. She parked and slung a backpack on her shoulder. The locker room was behind the main building; she unlocked the gate and entered, turning on the lights and kicking her shoes off.

Emma tried to forget about Regina for one second, or she would fry the showers of the station too, and then she would have to account for Regina-The-Mayor. That would be embarrassing.

She tied her hair into a knot and looked at the mirror.

It was very hard to forget about Regina when the brunette stood right behind her, watching her naked body with her mouth open. Emma had the decency to remember she should cover her front before turning to face the brunette.

"Good morning," she said amused.

Regina gulped. "I'll wait for you in your desk," she said completely disoriented before she left.

XXX

That was too much adrenaline for a stupid morning jog.

She was wearing the most ridiculous pair of grey slack pants she found in the clean laundry basket, and it didn't even belong to her, although she made a mental note to wash it and return to Henry before he noticed it was gone. Her hair was tied into a ponytail, and she had droplets of sweat on her forehead.

And suddenly the sheriff station felt many degrees hotter as she paced in front of Emma's desk thinking about Emma's shoulder blades, her calves, the tendons, the muscles...

The blonde came after her only a minute later. She was wearing her t-shirt inside out, but she looked smug anyway, marching behind her desk with her arms folded.

"So…"

"I saw the gate ajar, and I thought someone had broken in and entered."

"My shower is… dead," Emma said, trying to read Regina's expression. "So, you know-" she pointed the back door that led to the locker room. Regina folded her arms and nodded with a lot of composure. "My pants look great on you, by the way," the blonde added with a smirk.

 _Of course_.

Henry came home after camping weekend with Emma and her stupid girlfriend. Henry told her the story of the tree branch and how he lost half of his pants during a race with Emma. And Henry came home with Emma's clothes, because most of his clothes were ruined in this trip.

And Regina forgot all about that because she was too angry with the stupid Sheriff and her stupid girlfriend for being together _and_ with her son.

"Very well," Regina said. "If there's nothing wrong, I should probably go. And I'll wash those to return to you."

"You can keep them," Emma said, but the brunette didn't give her any sign that she had heard that.

So finally she got the upper hand. She had been a little worried that Regina would freak out with the fact that she was a woman, but the look of contemplation she received on her ass was not exactly of someone's who is freaking out.

Feeling a little smug that she had caused an impression, Emma started to make her way back to the showers, when the phone rang. She groaned when she heard Leroy on the line. He tended to yell a lot over the phone; not because he was that rude, but because he was from the enchanted forest and didn't believe too much on electronic devices.

Apparently, many sewer lids were flying all around town. Emma had a slight suspicion of what had caused that, or better saying, which hot brunette was leashing out her magic just because she saw the sheriff's ass.

"I'm on it," she said and hung up. She could shower later.

XXX

Regina's body shivered pleasurably the second she stopped paying attention to the file she was reading. She gave up exercising right after the disaster with Emma and the sewer lids.

And what a beautiful disaster that had been…

The image of her muscled back and toned legs were forever imprinted in her brain, not to mention the cute, round little-

"Mom!"

Startled, Regina dropped the document and took a deep breath. "Come in, honey."

Henry entered her office with a fuming tea cup, walking towards her desk very carefully, one foot after the other. Regina smiled fondly.

"Is that ginger and apple?" she inquired surprised.

"Yeah. I figured, if Emma can do it, why can't I?"

Regina shook her head with a chuckle. "What do you mean?"

"She made it once," he slumped down on the chair in front of her. "That night of the movie theater. She thought you were coming home, and she started to make some. I told you about that."

"Oh," was all Regina managed to say. She felt flattered like a school girl when Henry told her the first time, but he never mentioned that Emma made her tea.

"So…"

"So?" she inquired, sipping her tea.

"You're not telling me anything?"

Regina put her cup down. It was only fair he asked. He was their son, and he had been helping both of them a lot. "Okay. What do you want to know?"

"You and my mom-?"

Regina could spend the rest of her life listing the things she wanted to do with Emma Swan, but she kept a straight face as her son tried to elaborate.

"Are you, like, together?"

"I don't know. Probably."

"Probably? Isn't she like, your soulmate?"

Regina opened her lips to answer, when her phone let out an alert sound. It was a message from Emma.

 _I didn't know you jogged._

"I promise you we'll finish this conversation, honey. But I really have to deal with this now."

"Fine," he stood up slightly disappointed. "Just so you know, I invited her over after work. She owes me a rematch on Mario Kart, and I like when she comes because she pays for pizza."

She smiled at her son's oscillating voice. It was deep and sometimes squeaky, and it sounded funny when he was grumpy. And well, she was starting to find adorable how he was driven by food, just like Emma.

"Well, you two behave. I need to go back to my office to finish some paperwork for a bit."

"But mom! It's Saturday! And _Emma_ is coming! Your _girlfriend_!"

"Henry Daniel Mills, don't make me ground you!"


	6. Dear woodworker

**NSFW. There.**

 **Have fun!**

 **And thank you all for the reviews, follows and favs. You rock!**

Emma was really annoyed with the fact that she didn't shower yet, and she was already late to meet Henry. She figured out how to fix the sewer lids problem quite fast, but she almost had to lock up Leroy for provoking disorder on the streets, _after_ the problem was solved.

When her father parked the cruiser in front of the station to take the next shift, she ran to the back doors to avoid him, and only when he was inside she turned around the building and jumped in the bug. On her way, she decided to call Henry.

" _Hey, ma._ _What's up?_ "

"Hey, kid. Listen, I got a problem here."

" _Can I help?_ "

"Is there a chance your house has got a bathroom outside?"

" _Huh, nope. Why?"_

Emma took a deep breath. "I had a few setbacks, so I didn't have time to shower. I don't want your mom to see me like this."

She could see Henry grinning. Smug little jerk.

" _You can use my bathroom. She is at work right now._ "

The perspective of being clean elated Emma for a couple of seconds, until she caught up with the fact that Regina wasn't home.

"Huh, is she? Well, okay, I'll be right over."

She knocked softly when she arrived, feeling her heart in her stomach. She had hoped she would see Regina as well; going to Mifflin Street had been always an excuse to see Regina, but maybe showing her ass in the morning was not the best way to start a relationship with anyone – especially the refined woman who had been a Queen in a different life.

She noticed that Henry was looking oddly at her, and instead of his usual fuss about Mario Kart, he led her to the kitchen. She started to feel aggravated when she noticed he had made hot cocoa with cinnamon. Was he going to break up with her on his mother's behalf?

"So," he said.

Emma let out a deep breath. "Look, even if she's not that interested in having a relationship with me because, well, it's _me…_ Things won't change, okay? I'll still come over so we can spend time together-"

"Ma, what are you talking about?"

He sounded _so much_ like Regina sometimes…

"I'm freaking out," she blurted out unexpectedly.

"Because it's not a big deal to you or because it _is_ a big deal?" Henry eyed her suspiciously.

Emma buried her fingers into her hair then looked up at her waiting son. He looked like her too, sometimes, guarding Regina's heart like a fucking neurotic.

"Nothing has ever felt more real than this, kid."

He nodded. "Good."

Henry too, was trying not to let out too much. He knew his mother well, but he was still learning to understand Emma Swan.

"She's a little bit overwhelmed. I don't think it was easy telling you."

Emma spun her cup of hot chocolate slowly between her fingers. "None of this was easy, you know. We're fuck ups, me and your mom. When something begins to work, it's like a second nature to be prepared for shit to hit the fan."

"Well, shit will only hit the fan if you screw up. No destiny to blame on that."

Emma grinned. "You know too much for your own good, smartpants. Hey, I had an idea-"

"Start working on _Operation You Need a Shower?_ "

"Later. It's not like your mom will be here right this second-"

"I don't know why, but I don't like this look on your face."

She grinned wider. "Where's the tool shed in this house?"

XXX

Regina jumped on her skin when the phone rang. It was not Emma.

Tired of prank calls, she scribbled a note to remind Katherine on Monday that they needed a caller ID installed. She suspected slightly it had something to do with Captain Guyliner, though it was a wonder he had both sense of humor _and_ the ability to work a phone.

At first, Regina had decided to go to her office to focus on paper instead of Emma Swan, but then the desk and all the paper made her remember even more of that insufferably hot woman, and well… here she was, struggling with strangely hot waves of desire every fifteen minutes.

She hung up; still no hint that Emma got the right message from the text she decided to send when she noticed she would not be able to concentrate.

 _I'm waiting for you to get on with paperwork, Miss Swan._

Emma didn't answer. It was three p.m, she should be out of the station by now. She decided to call Henry, but he didn't pick up either. Maybe they were too busy playing videogames and eating pizza from the box like cavemen to notice.

Regina was furious she had _considered_ changing her comfortable underwear for the matching black lacy set Katherine once suggested. And she was furious she _actually bought_ it when she was alone. Now she only felt stupid and embarrassed. Not to mention the tiny pang in her chest caused by rejection.

XXX

"Okay, I need to eat something," Emma said, whipping the sweat from her forehead as she dropped the pickax on the garden and stopped at the kitchen door.

"Can't we just order pizza?" Henry asked grumpily, getting two bottles of water from the fridge and throwing one at Emma. He really hated that kind of activity, and he thought that the camping trip had been enough proof that he _was_ too clumsy for adventures that involved nature and tools.

"I need my special to stand still, kid. We can order pizza later, to eat with your mom."

"She doesn't even like pizza!"

"Everybody likes pizza! You know what, fine! Order what you want, but I need my Granny's special," Emma said, cleaning her hand on a piece of cloth she found on the sink. "Let's go, you call them from the car-"

"My mom texted you earlier, _ew_!" he threw the phone at her like a grenade. "EW!"

Emma felt mortified when she looked at the message.

"Don't read my personal stuff, kid! Jesus-"

"Then don't give it to me to order pizza! Or deactivate the preview option from your settings!"

" _What_ , in the name of _God_ , is going on here?"

Henry and Emma turned around. Regina was there, in jeans and a white shirt, watching in horror her son and the sheriff covered in mud, staining each clean surface of her kitchen.

"You explain," Henry muttered to Emma, disappearing outside before any of his mothers could have called him out.

There was silence, dreadful silence. Emma knew she was in trouble, but the only thing she could think about was Regina inside a pair of jeans. _Wow._

"So you decided to fix the sewer lid problem by _entering_ the sewage? _With_ Henry?" Regina sort of snarled trying to focus on Emma's dirty face instead of her arms covered in mud and sweat.

"What if I did?" Emma spat. "You're welcome, by the way!"

She had no idea why she said that. She sounded like an angry, spoiled brat. Regina looked like she was torn between laughter and a strong desire to kill Emma. She approached the blonde with sass, because she knew exactly how she affected her with her hips, and she noticed she got the upper hand again with the jeans.

"There's a shower in the guest room. I'll bring you some towels. And leave those horrid things outside!" she added when Emma took a step inside with her dirty boots.

The blonde kicked them off and entered on socks, tiptoeing just in case. She cringed when she heard the sound of mud splattering on the floorboard…

XXX

Not only Regina got stood up but also she had a house to clean, now.

When she looked at her backyard, she gasped.

Emma Swan was _not_ an imbecile, even if she had missed the innuendo. Regina tried hard to convince herself that being with the sheriff was a bad idea, but Emma was not making it any easier, and not only because she had gorgeous arms.

There, under a beautiful orange sun, stood a gazebo. It was wider than the first, and it had white rose bushes all around it. She saw a pallet with paint colors on the porch, and paper bags with garden tools.

Regina walked towards it, taking in the scent of mud, grass and wood. She took the steps to climb the gazebo, and closed her eyes as she inhaled the combination of scents the loved most.

Her heart felt warm inside her chest.

Upon entering her house, she grabbed clothes and two towels from the cabinet, and sniffed them to make sure they were perfectly clean and washed. Her heart was pounding hard against her chest. It always behaved like a show off when Emma Swan was around.

When she entered the guest room, it felt like someone removed the floor from underneath her feet. Emma had her naked, wet back turned to the door, pressing a washcloth to her face. It looked like she was taking in the scent of it, but she resurfaced when she realized she wasn't alone.

The mayor had _perfect_ timing.

Regina's breath hitched on her throat as the burning orange light hit her skin and accentuated the outline of her muscles and made the water drops glisten. Emma looked back slowly, but this time she was not smiling, and the expression on her face made Regina's knees falter.

"You built… the gazebo," Regina stuttered, making visible effort to keep looking at Emma in the eyes.

Emma watched as the brunette struggled to keep eye contact instead of looking away.

"You're-"

"A very talented woodworker," Emma said with so much confidence that it was hard to believe she was naked. "I know."

"You are an idiot," Regina chuckled, still not sure if she should leave or force the blonde to put on some clothes

"Crafty," Emma corrected her.

"It's like a giant Labrador dug holes in my entire lawn!"

"And it only took me two hours."

"Fine. You're skilled." And naked.

And then it was the way Emma looked at her and said "You've no idea" that had Regina pulling her against her clothed body. They stared at each other for a minute, their breaths mixing, until Emma reached out and touched her face.

The kiss was sweet and rough at the same time, and God only knew how much Emma wanted to throw her in bed and fuck her. However, this was not going to happen. She didn't return from the dead to have her way with Regina against a wall in the guest room until Henry came back with food.

"I should put on some clothes," she whispered with a smile.

"You should," Regina whispered back, looking like she didn't want that but knew it was the right thing to do.

"We'll finish that some other time."

"Here," Regina offered her a pair of slack pants and a t-shirt on top of the towels. "I got these from Henry's wardrobe. I believe you'll be more comfortable."

For a split second, Emma heard herself saying that Regina should strip off her clothes too, and they could be comfortable together, but she was able to hold her tongue for once. Baby steps.

"Thank you," she said in a thick voice that didn't go unnoticed by the mayor.

"Take your mind out of the gutter, dear," she smiled, leaving the room and closing the door behind her with the composure of royalty – as composed as a queen could be after the terrible pun. Once she was out of Emma's sight, Regina exhaled deeply; that idiot was deranging her common sense with all her muscles and water drops and muscles… Did she mention muscles yet?

She needed a cold shower.

XXX

"Did you fall in one of the manholes?"

Henry rolled his eyes as he approached his grandparents. They were sitting on the stools by the counter, and only then he realized it was because there was no table available. Granny's was packed, being Saturday night and all, and now everyone was looking at him, the royal-of-sorts boy covered in mud.

"I was helping Ma with something," he mumbled. "We took a break to eat."

"So…" Snow made an _I got this_ gesture to Charming, handing Neal to him. "Is Emma outside?"

"No, she's home," Henry said distractedly, checking the menu even though he knew it by heart.

"David missed her at work, and we stopped by at her apartment, but-"

"Oh. She's at _my_ house. Went there straight after work," he said, looking at the expression in his grandparents' faces. They seemed genuinely curious, but it was fun to play dumb with them sometimes. When he turned to Ruby to place his order, she had a look that mirrored theirs. "Huh… Are you feeling okay?"

"Food for three?" Ruby asked casually.

"For two," Henry said. Ruby arched one eyebrow. "I'm getting pizza for myself."

"Food for Emma _and_ Regina, then?"

"Yes."

Ruby looked at Snow and David, who exchanged looks too. It was like a little volcano was about to erupt. Henry rolled his eyes.

"They're doing paperwork. You heard about the sewer lids."

"Yeah, yeah, we heard, of course," David smiled, but his face was actually flushed, like he was about to explode if he didn't ask what he wanted to ask.

"So, my mom's special and something greasy free for my… other mom," Henry said to Ruby. That was a weird order, but he would eventually get used to it.

"Are they alright?" Snow asked as Granny threw him a disgruntled look for calling her food greasy. "Your… moms?"

"I guess," Henry shrugged, wanting to laugh at their faces. When he turned around, all the amusement was gone, as another pair of expectant eyes met him. That was more than just painfully awkward.

"Robin. Hey."

"Can I offer you a ride? I'm headed to the pizza place, too."

"I don't think my mom will like this very much," Henry said.

" _Which_ mom?" Ruby asked, almost tiptoeing behind the counter.

"Emma's got nothing to worry about," Robin smiled, oblivious to the gossip bubble he had just burst. "I just want to return a scarf. Rolland fell asleep in Town Hall once, and she used it to cover him."

"I… I can take it back to her, thanks."

"Rolland wants pizza too."

Henry sighed. He was a persistent dude. However, he had always believed that perseverance went a long way, not to mention that he wanted to get home faster…

"Fine."

"I'll wait for you outside," Robin grinned, picking Rolland and exiting the diner.

As he waited for Granny to return with his order, it was very awkward and tense, the longest ten minutes of Henry's life. Quickly, he grabbed the paper bags and finally walked away from his grandparents and Ruby; it was actually a relief to deal with Robin Hood in comparison.

The guy didn't ask questions about his mom, or made insinuations that he missed her, or that Rolland missed her, or that he was sorry he failed at forming a happy little family with them. He talked about trivial things from Storybrooke, and he actually offered to pay for Henry when they ordered.

"Tell your mom I said goodbye," he handed the red scarf to Henry once they parked in front of 108. "Rolland and I are going back to the enchanted forest at midnight, so…"

"I'll… tell her. Well, good bye. Bye, Rolland," Henry said turning to the back seat to wave at the little boy. "Here," he offered his pizza box. "Take it for later-"

"What are you doing here?"

If he hadn't seen her, Henry would not have recognized Emma's voice. She was standing in the curb, wearing baggy sweatpants and a worn out t-shirt, with flip-flops bigger than her feet. It was the odd light in her eyes that made it look bad.

Her voice came out raspy and cold and her expression didn't soften even after Regina joined her side. "Emma, what- Robin?"

"That was fast," he muttered, referring to the new awkward couple. He had always suspected there was something there…

"He offered me a ride to the pizzeria, Rolland wanted his last before they returned home," Henry explained, and as Regina held Emma's arm and remained looking at him like he was an alien, Robin decided to interfere.

"We're going back to the enchanted forest tonight. Rolland wanted to say thank you for the scarf-" he pointed the red fabric in Henry's hand "- and I wanted to say thank you for everything. To both of you."

"You're welcome," Emma gnarled, and Henry saw Regina tug at her arm again.

They looked like an old couple. Ew.

Regina blew a kiss and waved at Rolland, and the car disappeared around the corner. Henry walked fast towards the front door, when, once again, Emma's voice surprised him.

"Take your shoes off."

Definitively an old couple, Henry grimaced.

Ew.

XXX

They ate in silence after Henry washed up, sharing the food now he gave away his pizza. Regina kept watching Emma, who was oddly quiet all through their meal.

"So, you had a busy day today, huh?" she asked, desperate to make conversation.

When Emma didn't volunteer to talk, Henry quickly turned to his mother. "You need to pick the paint you want for the gazebo. Ma didn't finish it."

"You're not helping your mother with the painting?" Regina asked with a frown, trying to catch a reaction from Emma, but the blonde merely sipped her soda and shoved more fries into her mouth.

"I helped with the boring part. I'll let _you_ have all the fun."

Emma looked at Henry, then at Regina, who offered a tiny, beautiful smile. "If that's okay with you."

"Sure," the blonde shrugged, going back to her food.

"Can I go play videogames?" Henry asked, looking apologetically at Regina.

"Of course, honey. You can go too, if you want," she said to Emma. "I'll clean it up real quick."

"I don't mind helping."

Henry got out from the table as fast as he could. Good luck to them.

Once she heard the opening song to Mario Kart, Emma stood up to throw the bags in the trash. Regina followed her, with the intention of confronting her, but Emma turned around to face her first.

"Are there… more of your stuff with him?"

Regina tilted her head to the side and smiled discreetly. She could not hurt Emma's pride like that, so she kept it to a twitch on her lips.

"He doesn't have anything else that belongs to me, Emma."

She pressed her lips so much that her mouth became a thin line. "Good," she muttered, throwing the rest of their little feast away.

"Give it to me," Regina took it from her hands, and she actually felt her pulse accelerate when their skins touched. "Go with Henry, I'll join you in a bit."

"I really don't mind helping."

"Alright, then," Regina looked around and collected the plastic bag. "Take it out."

Emma nodded slightly, taking it from Regina and leaving the kitchen in silence. Regina watched her through the window, wearing pajamas and taking the garbage outside… It looked so domestic that it surprised her how naturally it happened.

Not to mention that the display of jealousy was making the stupid butterflies in her stomach _dance_.

XXX

"Where did you go?" Henry asked from the living room the second Emma crossed the front door.

"Garbage," she said, leaning on the archway to take a look at the TV, shoving her hands into her pockets. "I can't believe you're stuck there, it's really easy!"

"Well, show me," Henry rolled his eyes. "That was the whole point of you coming, and not building a gazebo, almost punching Robin and taking the trash out!"

Emma kept her smile to herself, but she was glad about how the day turned out. She took the controller from him and started a new game, just to show off a little.

"By the way, taking the trash out is my job."

She paused the game again, and turned to her son. "Henry, if that makes you uncomfortable, I'll just walk away. You are priority-"

"Are you kidding me?" he laughed. "Relax, Ma. She's including you in the chores. That's a lot, coming from my mom. There," he pointed at the TV. "I can't beat that dude-"

Emma went through the level on autopilot, his words echoing in her head. The sensation of actually _belonging_ somewhere was terrifying - and not because being with Henry and Regina was scary, but because she would hurt the people she loved most if she screwed up.

She couldn't screw up.

XXX

Regina smiled fondly at the sight of Emma and Henry sitting on the floor, yelling at the TV as though royal blood meant nothing to them. She sat on the couch right behind Emma, worried a bit that she was enjoying the scenario a little too much.

Emma staying after dinner, playing (and swearing) with Henry, and taking the trash out, and wearing horrible clothes that didn't manage to hide the beautiful body she underneath…

Regina had no idea what to expect from Emma Swan, except for a talented pair of hands and a very skilled sailor mouth. But apart from that, was she going to stay always?

"It's your turn, c'mon!" Henry said loudly, throwing the controller in her lap.

Regina snapped back to reality, and noticed Emma making room next to her. "Come down. Players sit here."

"I'm not sitting on the floor," she said.

Emma rolled her eyes and grabbed a fluffy ornament from the couch. She patted it. "My Majesty?"

Scoffing at the adorable mistake, Regina sat on top of the cushion. "It's _Your_ Majesty."

Emma grinned and approached her. "Alright, Hermione Granger… Here, you're holding it upside down," she said softly, turning it in Regina's hands. "Now, select the character you want to play with. Use the arrows to move-What?"

Regina had stared at Emma the whole time, and she had a small smile on her lips even though she didn't pay attention to the instructions.

"Nothing," she said, holding the controller at the right position and turning to look at the TV.

Emma drew closer, one hand covering Regina's, repeating the instructions very randomly, like she knew Regina wasn't paying attention again.

Henry watched his moms interact, and it was hard to believe they were the same pair that met four years ago, using fireballs and chainsaws to attack each other. He discreetly snapped a picture of them, and then he openly snapped a picture of Emma when Regina beat her for the first time – _This is not fair, you were cheating! And Henry, give it a rest with this camera, kid-_

XXX

It was easy to laugh and talk when Henry was with them, but now that he was knocked out on the couch and the house fell silent, the tension solidified between both women.

Emma turned off the TV and disconnected the cables, feeling Regina's eyes observing her from her spot on the cushion.

"So, it's late," the blonde said, rolling up the wires. "I should probably-"

Her voice died when she felt a warm, soft hand on her forearm. She turned around to face Regina, and she though she never saw such an array of emotions in one look.

"Bedroom?" the brunette asked with a suggestive eyebrow raised.

"Bedroom," Emma breathed, grabbing her hand and pulling her upstairs.

She burst into the room her instincts guided her to, and to her surprise, she picked the right one. She had a second to register the large bed, but that was all. She pushed Regina against the door right after closing it.

Emma was not smiling, or joking, or ranting. The look on her face made her seem dark, and the way her hands touched and commanded let out a possessive side of her that Regina didn't know, and that worked like a switch button – she was turned on like she never did before.

She knew Emma would put up a show of skills, but she would have that later. She held Emma's hand and guided her downwards, passing by the gap of her silk robe and all the way between her legs.

Regina let out a shaky breath when she finally felt Emma. Emma let out a low grunt when she felt how ready Her Majesty was. She could have joked, or teased, but she didn't. It wasn't a game.

Emma laced their fingers together with her free hand; with the other, she rubbed and penetrated her, tearing a deep moan from Regina. Emma fucked her recklessly, making Regina bump against the door and moan and cry out loud as she hissed the dirtiest words she could find in the back of her brain.

It didn't take long until she came violently around Emma's fingers. Her knees buckled, and the blonde held her around the waist for a while. Her skin was burning where Regina stuck her fingernails and then scratched, but that was the type of pain Emma was willing to get used to.

She moved the brunette to the bed and pushed her softly down the mattress. Emma climbed languidly on top of her, grabbing both of her wrists and pinning them above her head. She looked down, and stared deeply into her eyes.

"You love me?" Emma whispered.

Regina stared right back at the expectant blue orbs, her eyes drenched with pleasure.

She smiled. "I love you."


	7. Her favorite Charming

**Still NSFW. (Writing while at work).Heh. Thank you all for the follows, favs and reviews! I'm working on more M scenes for the future (God help me).**

 **Dedicated to Agatha and the adorably stupid fights we have.**

 **favorite Charming**

Emma froze on the stair when she ran into Henry on her way down to the kitchen. She was wearing Regina's silky robe and, well, that was pretty much all. Henry had his eyes closed and moved as though he was wide awake; he passed by Emma and didn't even acknowledge her presence, moving straight up towards his bedroom.

So apparently her son was a sleepwalker and she didn't know.

Trying not to even breathe out loud, Emma reached for the fridge and got two bottles of water. Upon seeing food, her stomach instantly grumbled. She thought she deserved some, because her muscles were sore and she was certain that she was dehydrated.

But she wasn't home, no matter how comfortable she felt in Regina's kitchen. God, who was she kidding? She felt comfortable between Regina's _thighs_ ; the rest of the house was just like a bonus.

And yet, she didn't think it would be okay to just grab food and leave Regina waiting upstairs.

No, make her wait was _not_ an option. She was naked, her gorgeous, tanned legs tangled with perfumed bedsheets, her hair a mess spread over the pillow. And her voice… God, just hearing her name in a strangled moan was almost as good as sex itself…

And sex… That was something out of a different world.

Emma Swan ignored the post-midnight hunger and sprang upstairs with the bottles of water. When she entered the room, Regina lay flat on her stomach, ankles crossed above her head as she went over Emma's contact list on her phone.

The brunette looked up at her. "There are a lot of female names in here," she said matter-of-factly, blatantly ignoring Emma's ridiculous show of affection – bulging eyes, mouth agape.

"Erase them all," Emma whispered dumbly. "Flush it down the toilet, whatever you want-"

Chuckling, Regina flipped it shut, got up on all fours and stretched out to place it back on the nightstand. She looked behind her shoulders when she heard a thud – she thought Emma had fainted.

The blonde had dropped the bottles of water. Her eyes were dark again.

Without changing position, Regina whispered. "Come back to bed."

XXX

Regina woke up like she did every other Sunday since her curse brought them all to Storybrooke – with the noise of the newspaper hitting her doorstep; the boy's aim was impeccable.

Except that this particular morning, she felt no urge to stand up and collect it. Her body was both sore and relaxed in all the right places, and it was still hard to believe that Emma Swan was on her bed, and that _she_ , the barbarian, was the reason why she felt like that.

The blonde had one arm and one leg wrapped around her, and she hid her face in the curve of Regina's neck, trapping her. Regina chuckled – such a woman-child. She disentangled from the blonde as gently as she could, noticing the sheriff was a heavy sleeper, like their son.

Regina reached down for her robe on the floor and watched Emma as she slipped her arms inside the sleeves. She rolled on her stomach with Regina's absence, one arm stuck under her pillow, one foot dangling from the mattress. The position looked very uncomfortable, but she was sleeping so peacefully that Regina didn't have the heart to move her.

Now that the morning sun was entering through the curtains, she realized that Emma's back muscles were _not_ product of her imagination or an exaggerated reaction after accidentally seeing her naked for the first time. She was that much strong and toned and-

Regina shook her head, closing her robe and lacing it around her waist, feeling giddy, and hot and completely in love with that snoring idiot.

She went downstairs with a smile on her face. She would usually have something light in addition to coffee, but right now she felt absurdly _empty_. Regina started working on breakfast, and when she realized it, she was humming something out of tune as she made pancakes, and that Emma Swan watched her from the archway with a huge, shit eating grin on her face.

"So you _do_ sing while you cook," she said with a thick, hoarse morning voice that made Regina shiver pleasurably.

The brunette rolled her eyes, even though a small smile insisted on twisting her lips. She was aware that she was fangirling over Emma's talent, and she knew that was because of the many orgasms she had last night.

"What do you want? A certificate?"

"I want food," Emma said, approaching Regina slowly, awkward hands inside her pockets, still not very sure of what to do. Were they officially a couple now? Should she hug her or kiss her good morning?

"It really confuses me," Regina said, half smiling, half frowning. "You eat all the carbohydrate available in one small town, you don't exercise… And yet, Miss Swan, there you are, always fit and _always_ hungry! Where does it all go?"

"To arms and fingers," Emma said with a suggestive movement on her left eyebrow that made Regina blush. "Besides, you don't exercise either, and still-" she waved a lazy hand, indicating the brunette's body from head to toe.

"You saw me jogging!" Regina spat, growing redder as she tried to ignore the compliment.

"That was a one-time thing, I'm pretty sure I would've seen you jog around town during my patrols. I'd always checked if you were out yet and- _What?"_ she chuckled, feeling almost timid with the look Regina was giving her.

Regina parted her lips to answer, but then she shook her head and smiled instead.

"Get more flour in the pantry, please?"

"Yes, my majesty," Emma winked at her as she passed by her side. She opened the door and entered the cubicle. Her muffled voice came out after a second. " _Holy shit! Are you expecting nuclear war?"_ she stuck her head out of the cabinet. "Seriously, there's _a lot_ of food in here!"

"I'm raising _your_ son!"

Emma completely missed the obvious implication in that sentence, and felt dread going down her stomach. Regina noticed the look on her face and immediately hurried to her side.

"I didn't mean it like that-"

"Maybe if you hadn't cursed my family, I wouldn't-"

She regretted it the second the words left her mouth, but it was too late to take them back now.

"Fine," Regina sighed, pulling away from Emma. "That's why I've been telling myself this wasn't a good idea."

"What, are you breaking up with me?"

Regina placed her hands on her hips, and she looked so helplessly sexy that it hurt.

"Is that what you want?" the brunette asked, and she didn't sound mad. In fact, the possibility of a rupture seemed to upset her a lot. "I mean, is this _always_ going to pop up when we fight?"

Emma tilted her head. Was Regina planning on having more fights with her? Like in a relationship?

"No," she blurted, shaking her head. "It slipped out because I'm childish sometimes."

Regina crossed her arms. " _Some_ times?"

Emma let out an involuntary chuckle when she saw the smirk on the brunette's beautiful lips. "I see now after _whom_ Henry took the smartpants attitude."

"I call it fast thinking," Regina said in low tone, strutting like a fox towards Emma. "I'm not sure you're too-"

Emma grabbed her around the waist and pressed her hard against the pantry shelves, capturing her lips before she could even finish her sentence. She felt Regina's knee on the side of her waist, and her hand's immediate response was to lift the hem of her robe up her thigh as she kissed her roughly. That was one excellent good morning kiss.

When the small cubicle was about to combust, a deep, sleepy voice made them split up and hold back the breathing noises.

"Mom?"

Emma let out a muffled grunt of pain when a can of tomato soup fell on her head.

XXX

Henry frowned, scratching the back of his head when he thought he heard weird noises coming from the kitchen.

Regina came out of the pantry, combing her hair with her fingers, looking suspiciously flushed as she adjusted her robe.

"Good morning, honey," she smiled brightly, panting a little. "Pancakes?"

He eyed her for a moment, considering it. "Yeah, okay."

Regina beckoned Emma out, and pointed the back door to the blonde, mouthing _Go now!_

When Emma was about to run, Henry's head popped in the archway again. "Tell Ma she should stay for breakfast too."

Emma came around the pantry door with the weirdest and most awkward smile Regina had ever seen on her face. It might have something to do with the pain and the lump on her forehead, but Regina found it cute anyway.

"Morning, kid," she said with a wave of her hand.

He scoffed. "I'm very happy for you, but _gross_."

Regina and Emma exchanged looks when he came towards the kitchen island and drummed his fingers on the cold surface. "Can I help?"

"Huh, well, you and your mother can mix the ingredients while I handle the stove," Regina said, glad that they could move past the embarrassing moment. She gave Emma a bag of ice. "Put it in your head, dear."

"Get more flour in the pantry," Emma nudged Henry, placing the ice on the lump, smiling briefly at Regina.

"I'm not going in there, you two were-"

"C'mon, stop being so-"

 _Crack._

Regina turned around and saw an egg splattered on the tiled floor. She looked up. At the same time, Emma and Henry pointed at the other with equally wide eyes.

XXX

"There you are."

Emma looked up from the drawer she was rummaging, and smiled at the sight of her father. He _did_ look good in his uniform, and she considered thanking him later for passing on the genes.

"Morning, dad."

"Where have you been, Em?" he chuckled, walking around her desk and eventually sitting on top of his. "It's like we don't see you in… ages."

She smiled sheepishly. "I'm sorry for ditching you on Sunday."

She wasn't.

"I had a migraine."

She spent the Sunday afternoon having sex with Regina on every possible surface in her kitchen after Henry left.

David folded his arms, looking skeptically at his daughter, who was still positive about finding a chocolate bar inside her drawer.

They thought it was strange when Henry showed up alone, because Sunday was the day Emma got to keep him to do whatever activity she wanted, without Regina interfering, and picnic with the Charmings was something Regina would _definitively_ not interfere.

Henry had stuttered something about Emma having a migraine, which Snow didn't buy and neither did him. Then baby Neal threw up on the towel and they dropped the subject.

Emma sat up on her chair with a Snickers bar on her hand, looking proud. When she caught her father's eye, she stopped smiling.

"What?"

"Do you wanna tell me the truth or you'd rather have your mom and Ruby running full investigation?"

Emma stared at him indignantly. She opened her mouth several times to protest, but she just had nothing to say in her defense. He didn't sound accusatory or even surprised, and though she'd rather die than admit it, she _was_ happy to the point of wanting to share it with someone.

"How long have you known?" she asked quietly instead, avoiding his eyes as she played with the Snickers bar.

"Longer than you," David said with a chuckle that made his daughter look up at him. He was smiling. "She did more than save your life that night, didn't she?"

Emma considered it for a moment. It took Regina six months to tell _her._ Could she tell him a secret that now belonged to the two of them?

"Tell me your theories," Emma said.

David ran his hand over his short hair with a deep frown. Whenever this day was mentioned, it seemed to bring very bad memories to everyone that was involved.

"Your mother and I went after Regina when we couldn't find you anywhere in town. We thought that we could summon you with the dagger, so we went to her vault, because, well, it was obvious she would be there. And then _you_ were there, sleeping, and she was sitting next to you on the floor, looking… like she cried herself out. I always thought that, if you use one place to hide, then this place has got to mean something. I mean, you could've gone home, to our place. But you chose her vault. That was important, I guess. And then Regina , she… She held onto your mother and told us both to take you home and let you rest because your heart was weak. Soon after that she broke up with Robin, and you would always behave like a fool whenever she walked in any room, all… infatuated and stupid. Reminded me of myself when, by chance, I would run into your mother back in the Enchanted Forest. So," he paused to make his final consideration. "Whatever it was that she did, only love could have fought that amount of darkness… I think Regina deserves your heart, Emma."

"Actually…" Emma looked down at her chest and clutched it for a second. He was her _father_ , and he saw Regina the way she did. "It was the other way around."

"What do you mean, sweetie?"

And maybe it was the way he spoke to her, like she was his little girl, and the overwhelming truth of what had happened that finally made Emma decide.

"It… killed me. And she… She brought me back."

"From the… _dead?_ "

"It was not dark magic!" she hurried to explain when she saw the deep frown on his forehead. "She did-"

"The same thing your mother did to save me," he whispered, still frowning. "Emma, she's your-?"

"She is more than anything I can describe."

David remained silent for a moment, and he held his daughter's hand.

"You know what this means, right?"

"What?" Emma mumbled.

Charming smiled, but this time he looked a lot smug. "Your mother will be _thrilled_."

Emma frowned when she did not sense the sarcasm. "Huh?"

"You better prepare Regina, because she is officially invited to attend the Charmings picnic next Sunday. No excuses, young lady, we _know_ you don't have migraines."

Emma smiled guiltily at her father, and then she sighed. "Yep, Regina's going to kill me for that."

"Yeah. I already knew that you would be the whipped one, too."

" _Thanks_ , dad."

XXX

"Well, I _am_ offended!" Snow said, reaching out for a napkin to wipe Neal's mouth. "Shouldn't she come to _me,_ her _mother_?"

"I'm her best friend! _And_ her godmother!" Ruby retorted.

"Ugh," she scoffed, rolling her eyes. "David's just so much better with her than I am!"

"You can't really blame her, Snow. We were making _wedding_ plans a second ago, and those two barely left the closet!"

"It was a joke!"

"Weddings and jokes don't go in the same sentence, especially if it's Emma we're talking about."

Snow sighed. "Yeah, I guess you're right."

Ruby reached over the counter and touched her friend's arm. "Hey. Isn't it what you wanted most for Emma? Happiness?"

"Of course it is!"

"Then why do you look so sad?"

"I'm not sad, just contemplative," Snow said, adjusting Neal in her arms. "I think that… Oh hi, stranger!" she exclaimed upon seeing her daughter entering the diner.

"Hey, mom. Hey, Rubes," Emma smiled, stretching her arms to her little brother, who sprang from Snow's lap to reach out for her. "Hey, Mr. Diaper! Oh, what did you have for lunch?"

"Did he crap here?" Ruby made a face, wrinkling her nose. "I can't smell baby shit!"

"Babies crap everywhere," Emma said. "But no, he's a gentleman."

"Very unlike the two of you," Snow hissed. "People are _eating_ here!"

"Oh, that reminds me," Emma grabbed her cellphone with her free hand to check a message. "I want two burgers, fries, extra pickles and-" she looked at the screen again "-chicken marinara with side salad and… Yep, that's all."

Snow got the subtle look Ruby threw her as she wrote down the order. She took the small paper to the kitchen counter and came back to her spot in front of the two women.

"So, where the fuck have you been all weekend?"

Emma avoided her mother's expectant eyes, and avoided Ruby's question by turning to Neal.

"People in this town are very, very nosy. Just a tip for the future. Thanks," she said to Granny, passing a crumpled bill to her and then turning to her mother to give her Neal. "I'll see you tonight for dinner?"

"Sure," Snow nodded grinning, happy that her daughter wasn't forgetting about their plans. "Honey?"

"Yeah?"

The pixie haired woman looked at the blonde's innocent eyes (she looked _exactly_ like David when she did that), pondering whether she should tell Emma.

"You can bring, you know…" she said shrugging, looking around the diner as though she would find words to express what she meant.

Emma rolled her eyes. "Dad told you, huh?"

"Oh, we're _so_ happy for you!" Ruby burst out, rounding the counter and throwing herself at Emma into a tight hug. " _Finally_! Oh, this is _so_ great! I'll finally get my money from that cheap-"

Ruby stopped talking when she noticed the look Emma was giving her.

"Your father and I have _not_ taken part into those bets, sweetie. I promise," Snow said.

"Yeah, but you didn't try to stop us either," Ruby scoffed at her, and then turned back to the blonde. "I'm sorry, but a lot of people were into it, and… Okay, forget it. I'm a terrible godmother."

Emma laughed. "You're not. Just give it a rest. Okay? Alright, I'll see you at night," she said, grabbing her bags and walking towards the door.

"Does that mean the Swan-Mills Special should become an item on the menu?" Ruby asked casually, receiving a painful and not so subtle nudge from Snow's elbow.

Emma stopped halfway out of Granny's, and turned around to face them with an unreadable look on her face.

"I hope so."

XXX

"Hey," Emma said to Katherine as she stopped in front of her desk.

"Hello, Sheriff Swan," she said, with a grin so nerve wrecking that it could compete with Ruby's.

"Huh," Emma looked at the closed door, then back at Regina's secretary. Was she supposed to wait for Katherine to announce her? She lifted the paper bags from Granny's and pointed at the door with a questioning look.

"She's waiting for you," the blonde said with a short nod and a smirk.

"Thanks," Emma muttered, hurrying towards the door. When she entered, Regina looked up from her papers, and quickly a smile appeared on her red lips. "Hey," Emma smiled back.

"Hello," she said, standing up.

Emma noticed she was wearing a black dress and tights when she did. She swallowed hard.

"You look, huh, _wow._ "

"Thank you, dear."

The blonde placed the paper bags on the desk and looked at the mayor, who stood in front of her now.

"Hi," she whispered with a grin.

"Hi," Emma whispered back with a stupid smile. "Hungry?"

"You could say so," she said, walking back to her chair with that slow strut that drove Emma mad. Regina chuckled when she noticed the look on Emma's face as she sat back down. "Have a seat."

Emma slumped down the chair. So un-classy, Regina thought, and yet… she could barely stand to look at her fingers and hands without wanting to remove her underwear. Adjusting her knees close together, Regina shook her head and collected the food from the paper bags.

"I didn't think you'd make it so quickly," she said, noticing Emma had started eating, but with a little more finesse. She was even holding a napkin and chewing slowly.

"Things are pretty slow lately. Pongo's not escaping anymore now that Archie walks him after midnight. This is actually good, because my mom is driving my dad crazy with dinner plans," Emma added as an afterthought. If she was inviting Regina, she better start talking.

"Dinner plans? She's preparing food for pirates, wolves and little people tonight?"

Emma chuckled lightly at the way she spat the word pirate. Jealous Regina. She liked it, even though not even her parents could stand Hook.

"Actually, she's preparing food for us."

Regina stopped midday from biting a carrot.

"She what?"

"They invited the three of us."

"They invited… _me_ … for dinner?"

Emma sighed and looked at her. "They did."

"Oh," she said slowly.

The blonde watched her carefully as she processed the information.

Regina had decided long ago that she would stop analyzing Snow White's behavior towards her. It was not possible she could be that forgiving, it was not possible she could _understand_ what Regina did.

And yet she did.

It explained a lot why Emma was the way she was, and Regina loved that about her, but she wasn't sure she was ready to be part of that annoying family. They ogled people, they were obnoxious, they had faith, and hope, and unicorns and rainbows sticks…

It was unnerving that they were directly connected to the happiness Regina felt.

"Okay," she said at last.

The blonde's eyes went wide. "Okay?"

"Why are you so surprised?" she said defensively. "If you'd rather go alone, it's-"

"No, nothing! I just… I thought you'd say no," Emma said with a genuine smile of relief.

"After what we did yesterday, dear… I thought you'd know by now that I can't say no to you."

Oh boy. Emma tried to laugh, but all that came out was a shaky, wheezy breath.

Regina loved how clumsy and juvenile Emma acted and reacted to her, like she was the most beautiful woman in the world. They ate in silence, but the memories of the day before remained between them, unspoken but almost palpable.

"So I'll pick you guys at seven?"

"We're riding on that death trap of yours?"

" _Always_ underestimating the Swans…"

"Your car has a last name? It's not even a car!"

"You hurt my feelings, Regina," Emma said with a dramatic sigh and head shake.

Regina smiled, watching the blonde finally lose patience and devour her second burger with no class whatsoever.

"Seven is fine, dear."

XXX

The door flared open and Charming's smiling face greeted them.

"Hey! You made it! Get in," he ruffled Henry's hair, then ruffled Emma's hair and then looked questioningly at Regina.

"Don't you dare," she said, offering a bottle of wine she insisted on bringing.

"Thank you," he smiled widely, beckoning her in as he accepted the gift. "C'mon, make yourself at home-"

Regina entered slowly, watching the environment around her. It wasn't the first time she entered that apartment, but never would she have thought she would be there merely because they invited her for dinner.

She looked over at Emma, who had been observing her from a distance. She seemed a mix of proud and awkward –she never introduced anyone to foster or real parents. They smiled at each other, but eventually Regina broke eye contact. Snow stood right in front of her.

"You came," she said with a genuine smile that made Regina frown.

"You hated the nurse _this_ bad?"

Snow chuckled. "C'mon, help me up. I need the voice of reason in this kitchen, and not ' _let´s grill cheese_ ' every time something goes wrong-"

"Hey, I'm a fantastic cheese… griller," David protested from behind the fridge's door, grabbing juice for Henry and beers for him and Emma.

Regina noticed how Emma sounded just like him when she was trying to find words that didn't exist. She suppressed the urge to smile when she realized she was quickly growing into the Charmings. And that was Emma's fault. Again. _Idiot_.

When Emma realized her mother was recruiting Regina to make food, she decided to hurry to her rescue. Her mother, however, was ready to that reaction.

"You'll both be fine if you stay apart for a second," Snow said, pushing Emma out of the kitchen's isle.

The blonde searched for Regina's eyes.

"It's fine," the mayor said politely.

"See?" the pixie haired woman pushed Regina away from her daughter's hands.

Emma had to pull away against her will, walking backwards until she gave up to Regina's reassuring look. She turned around and joined her father and Henry on the couch, but she could barely take part on their conversation. Not just because she was ignorant about horses, but because every time her mother made Regina laugh, Emma's heart jolted and melted and warmed her up from head to toes, and the world ended a little bit.

That was her favorite sound in the whole world.

XXX

Regina was chopping shimeji mushrooms, when she dropped the knife and looked to her side.

"You are staring!" she protested in low voice.

Snow did something like a backwards bunny hop, her breath hitching on her throat.

"Jesus, I'm sorry," she muttered, slightly awkwardly. That reminded Regina of Emma too.

 _God_.

Regina wondered and even waited for Snow to start babbling something about them going from friends to enemies to in laws, but she didn't. Instead, she added a full tablespoon of butter to the pan and waited for Regina to throw in the mushrooms.

When she turned around without saying a word to work the stove, Regina joined her.

"Here, add soy sauce," she suggested. "Tastes like heaven."

"Thanks! Emma's a tragedy with this," she stirred the pan on the fire. "I'm glad you joined the family."

Regina could have come back with a thousand mocking retorts. She could definitively do it.

But she didn't.

"I am glad, too."

XXX

Henry slumped against the backrest of the bug, feeling absolutely _full_ and a hundred pounds heavier. That always happened when he visited his grandparents, no matter how uncommon and oddly young they looked like.

That was one of the best days of his life. He had never seen _so_ much of his long lost family together in one room, talking, laughing and, on his mothers exclusive case, looking at each other so intensely that it felt like the apartment would burst into flames at any minute.

 _Gross_ , he thought with a smile as he noticed, between the front seats, Emma reach out for Regina's hand and hold it above the gear stick as she drove them back to Mifflin Street.


	8. Idiots can court and be idiots

***Hurries inside, panting frantically* Sorry it took so long, I hope this chapter makes it up to the waiting!**

 **NSFW. Really not.**

"Madam Mayor."

Regina spun on her heels, startled. She was leaving the office almost at nine p.m., and she had not expected to find Katherine there.

"What are you still doing here?" she asked, making her way towards the front desk.

"In case you needed back up," the blonde shrugged. "I know public tender day is hell for you. Sheriff Swan stopped by and left you this."

She offered Regina a white bird made of paper.

"An origami?" Regina asked with a frown.

"Adorably weird. She didn't want to interrupt you… Anyway," Katherine snapped back to reality. "Yes, she left it here and asked me to give it to you. And oh, she said something about a swan being better than a dove. Oh!" she chuckled. "I didn't get it when she said it, I'm exhausted-"

"Go home, Kat," Regina said with sympathy. She did sound tired, almost dizzy.

She waited until her secretary was gone to unfold the swan, only to find blue ink words with Emma's unmistakable handwriting.

 _Hopefully you're not too tired to overlook the most important question I'll ever ask._

 _Wanna go out with me tomorrow night? I'll pick you up at seven. Yes, we're riding the death trap again._

 _Emma._

Regina was sore and tired, craving for a long bath and a cup of tea, but she smiled fondly at the scribbling. She picked her cellphone and typed as she locked the building and walked towards her car.

 _When you learn how to make a dove origami, yes._

Regina ignited the car and immediately her phone beeped.

 _That might take long, so I'll pick you up at seven anyway._

The brunette grinned.

 _Classy,_ she typed back.

 _Why waste finger potential on paper folding? Insert seductive look here._

 _I can't get enough of your manners. You should attend etiquette for barbarian princesses' class sometime._

 _I'm overlooking the sarcasm because I want you to say yes. Is that a yes?_

Chuckling, Regina typed her final answer and dropped the phone on top of her purse on the passenger seat, reversing the car and maneuvering to gain the streets.

XXX

"I'm not doing it again, and I don't care if it's a chicken, a pigeon or an ostrich you need!" Ruby said, throwing her hands up in the air, making several failed attempts of paper swans fly away from the counter.

"I'm charging you extra if customers start to complain about poster paper on their soup, Swan," Granny said as she passed by them with two fuming bowls.

Emma rolled her eyes. "You guys are so dramatic sometimes."

"I would say it's got something to do with the moon, but I believe it has more to do with the fact that you are a little abusive today."

"I only ate five sandwiches!"

"Seven! Which were not yours! Not to mention the hundred stupid birds you made me fold all afternoon until you thought it was _perfect_ ," she said, grimacing at the last word, mocking the way Emma said it earlier.

"You said you were going to help me!"

"You already got the girl!"

"I… I never took anyone out for a first date before," Emma said quietly.

Ruby sighed, rolling her eyes. "You have to stop with this helpless little poor thing look, you know? That's why girls fall at your feet, it's virtually irresistible-"

Emma smirked.

"Pig," Ruby slapped her arm. "Fine. What do you need?"

"She just said yes, and I need to borrow the diner for one night."

"Hm."

"C'mon, Ruby! You've been betting on my love life, you can't seriously deny help just because I ate other people's food!"

"Fine, fine! When's the date?"

"Tomorrow."

" _Tomorrow_? Are you insane? Oh my God… Oh wait," Ruby stopped dead on her tracks, eyes lost somewhere. "I think I got it."

"You do? Great, because all this thinking made me really hungry-"

Ruby rolled her eyes, but she was grinning when she returned from the kitchen with a burger and fries on the side.

"Just because you're my favorite goddaughter," she muttered when Emma attacked it like she hadn't eaten in days. "Lucky for you, Granny's been asking to go to that Bingo thing for ages. I'll talk her into it, and you can have the place to yourselves."

"Thanks, Rubes," she said with a genuine smile.

"Oh, and just one more thing. Don't wear that red jacket for your date."

"What's wrong with my jacket?"

"Nothing's wrong, just… fancy it up, you know. It's Regina, not some random girl you picked at a bar."

"You think I don't know that?" Emma muttered, sounding nervous for the first time. "I was not going to wear the jacket, for your information."

"Good. Can I borrow it for bingo night, then?"

"Smooth, Rubes… Very smooth…"

XXX

It was the third time Regina passed by his door, her high heels knocking the hardwood floor hurriedly. Henry looked at his alarm clock. Five thirty.

She had left work earlier, which she never did as far as he could remember. Henry went through another page of his comic book, but when she hurried past for the fourth time, he sensed he had to intervene.

"Mom?" he called, stopping at the archway to her bedroom.

She came out of the bathroom, putting on some earrings as she limped around the bed wearing different shoes, one slightly higher than the other.

"Black or burgundy?" she asked him, slightly out of breath, indicating the stilettos.

Regina was wearing her silk robe, with her makeup half done, three smudges of lipstick colors on the back of her hand. She looked so nervous and insecure that for a second Henry barely recognized his mother.

"Go for the comfortable ones," he said, sitting down on the armchair, only then noticing he was on top of a pile of inside-out clothes. "Oh, sorry…"

"That's okay, honey, I already discarded those… God, this is impossible…" her voice trailed off as she kicked both shoes and ran to the bathroom again.

"Mom?" Henry called out tentatively.

"Yes, sweetie?" she smiled, returning with another shade of lipstick on her hand.

"Relax. Okay? It's just my mom."

Regina sighed, closing her eyes for a second. That was far more stressful than public tender. It was Emma, and that was _exactly_ why she felt so nervous. It was just Emma, and yet… it _was_ Emma.

Missing someone that much, and craving to be with them like that was aggravating to her guarded heart.

Not to mention that they were going backwards. They had sex, they said they loved each other, then she was welcomed to the family and now they were about to go out for the first time. Sex was… _so_ easy and good and perfect and exhilarating... Emma made her feel like they had done that a million times before, in different worlds and different lives.

They had lunch together sometimes, in her office, and were constantly interrupted by the phone or an apologetically Katherine. They had breakfast with Henry, and the lack of conversation after he left was just a prelude to more frantic, hot sex.

But not tonight. Tonight it was just them, on a date, with time reserved just for the two of them.

Tonight, Regina could feel things were going to be different. It was just about to get real, and she had no idea if she was happier than she was scared or the other way around. Everyone would see them out in public. Everyone in that nosy town would know.

Her phone beeped and she threw an apprehensive look at Henry.

"It's her," she whispered.

"Read it," he encouraged her, whispering back dramatically.

 _I have a date with the hottest woman in town and I'm freaking out because I don't know what to wear._

Regina frowned, but a second message came quickly after the first.

 _Fuck, sorry. Thought it was Rubes._

She let out a sigh of relief and a chuckle. That made Regina's heart flutter and then settle in her chest.

It was Emma. Her idiot.

She turned around to Henry with two pieces of clothing in hangers. "Black dress? White dress?"

"Hmm," Henry stared at them, not seeing any difference besides the color.

"I'm sorry, honey," she chuckled embarrassedly. "I shouldn't be asking you this-"

"White," he said with a reassuring smile, even though he had no idea what he was doing.

"You think so? Well, it doesn't hurt to try…"

She locked herself in the bathroom again, and her muffled voice came right after that.

"Which shoe?"

"Huh, the red one!" Henry said, desperately trying to remember the women in his grandmother's fashion magazines.

He left the room to give her privacy, and went to his bedroom. He would have to stop procrastinating and pack his bag, because his grandfather tended to be punctual. He picked a pair of pajamas, clean socks and fresh clothes for school. Henry looked around, making sure he was not forgetting anything, while he heard Regina in the other room, fussing some more.

He had to smile at that, wondering what kind of mess his other mom was in.

XXX

"Shit."

Emma looked at the mirror on the wardrobe door. She was really not cut out for that. It seemed to her that the time she spent in Storybrooke made her fall into a rout of comfortable clothes, and now she could not dress fancy anymore.

"Jesus. I can do this. Okay," she took in a deep breath. "Okay, I can't do this-"

She hurried to her couch and picked her phone, quickly typing a message to Ruby, which she ended up by sending to Regina.

"No no no - Cancel it, _cancel it_! _Fuck_! FUCK!" she yelled, furiously typing an apology. God, Regina was going to think she was crazy…

"Wow, someone is happy about their date with madam Mayor," Ruby said, entering the apartment all of a sudden. "What's going on?"

"Everything's going on. Wait. What are you doing here?"

"I came to pick the jacket- Wow!"

"What?"

"You look amazing!"

Emma frowned. "You think so?"

"Yeah, look at you!" Ruby grinned. "Loved your hair, I didn't know you knew how to style it!"

"Thanks," Emma laughed, relieved that she wasn't looking stupid. "The jacket is on my bed, and Rubes… Thank you."

"Not a problem, Sheriff," she said with a wink, throwing the diner keys at Emma. "I'll bring it back in one piece," she patted the jacket on her shoulder, opening the door. "Good luck tonight."

Emma felt all her insecurities returning the second she was left alone in her apartment again, but then she heard a beep on her phone. She almost had a heart attack when she saw Regina's name on her screen.

 _Why don't you pick me up now so you can stop behaving like a school girl? By the way, hottest woman in town? Do you have a date with someone else besides me?_

A gigantic smile appeared on Emma's lips. God, she loved that woman… She hurried to get her car keys and virtually jumped down the staircase, eating up the distance to the ground floor by skipping every step she could.

XXX

Regina heard the bug's engine when it was turning around the corner to her block. Henry had left with David about ten minutes ago, right after wishing her good luck. David, however, stared at her with a proud smile that seemed something like a father would do when their daughter came down the stairs dressed up for prom.

She inhaled deeply, and smoothed the white dress one more time, then checked her makeup and hair on the hall mirror, finally marching outside.

Emma instantly looked up.

She had her back against the bug, arms fidgeting besides her body, smoothing her black pantsuits. She was wearing a sleeveless white blouse, and Regina was sure she did something to her hair. It was carefully pulled back, tied into a neat ponytail.

 _Oh Emma_ , Regina groaned inside her head. Emma and her arms. Emma and her beautiful, slim body, covered in beautiful clothes. Regina was sure she would be distracted all night.

Emma smiled widely when she saw Regina, and something seemed to light up in her eyes.

The blonde was mentally drooling. The white dress made Regina's olive skin stand out, and her shoes made her legs look so… Yep, Emma wanted to fuck her in those shoes.

When Regina took the final step towards the blonde, she inhaled Emma's perfume. Underwear officially ruined before their date even started.

"Good evening, dear," Regina said composedly.

Emma let out a low chuckle. "Hot! I mean, sorry! Hi!" she ranted, opening the door of the passenger seat for Regina.

 _Damn it, Emma,_ she said to herself shaking her head as she walked around the bug to get to the driver seat. _What the fuck is wrong with you?_

When she sat down, she took in Regina's scent, and God, she loved that perfume… She loved to taste it when she kissed her neck.

"Really, you look… gorgeous," Emma breathed, turning to Regina and capturing her red lips into a quick kiss.

Regina felt herself blush at the same time she wanted to straddle Emma and skip dinner to have sex inside that hideous car.

"You look very beautiful, Emma," she said instead, letting out a shaky breath.

Emma gulped, wanting to feel that against her ear while she fucked her.

"Thank you," she whispered, and then cleared her throat. "Shall we?"

"Yes."

There was sexual tension during the ride towards Granny's. Emma wanted to talk about anything to distract herself from Regina's thighs, but she knew that anything she said would sound like rant, and it would kill the mood or worse – end up in frenetic, teenager sex on the back seat of her car.

 _Stick to the plan, Emma…_

She decided to focus on the details of the night she prepared, trying to mentally check all the items, but the mere thought of something going wrong made her even more nervous. Then she felt a hand on her leg.

She didn't look down. With the corner of her eye, she could see Regina looking straight ahead casually. The hand was soothing at the same time it was a turn on.

The ride to Granny's didn't take longer than ten minutes, but it felt like hours and hours of torture – because keeping her hands off the queen, well… that was painful.

When she parked in front of the diner, she saw a tiny sparkle of confusion flash past Regina's eyes. She was too polite to voice it, but Emma smirked .It was normal to react like that, considering Granny's was the restaurant they went all the time, at least for one meal a day.

She quickly exited the car and turned around the front to get Regina's door. The brunette accepted her outstretched hand with a smile, noticing that Emma didn't let go when she guided her towards the flourished entrance arch.

"Come," the blonde said, picking the keys in her pocket.

Only then Regina noticed the absence of cars, noise and people. When they reached the door, she saw the CLOSED sign hanging from the doorknob, which Emma ignored as she unlocked it and pulled Regina inside with her.

The whole place was dim lit. However, Emma didn't take a booth or stool, and kept pulling Regina with her towards the back doors. When she unlocked that too, they found themselves in a beautiful back yard that Regina had never seen before.

"This is Granny's secret place," Emma explained, almost as if reading her thoughts.

She had a table sat in the middle of the yard, an improvised wood floor underneath so they wouldn't have to step on the grass. The table cloth was matching the magnolias Granny had planted under the back windows, and there were candles in the center of it.

Red and orange lamps were hanging from trees and the lamp wires; there was a small buffet set not far from them, and two bottles of wine inside an ice bucket.

"Emma!" Regina whispered, a hand covering her left cheek in surprise. "This is-"

No one had ever made something quite like that for her. She had been a queen, and she had been offered magnificent feasts in castles. This was simple, thoughtful and so very cozy that she instantly felt something burn in the corner of her eye.

And suddenly she understood why essentially she felt so drawn to Emma. She was, in ways, like the stable boy. It was the simple, unconditional kind of love that Emma offered; she was not a king, but she paid attention even to the air Regina breathed.

She had already noticed the wine was the exact same she had in her personal cellar. The smell of the food was a mix of season and sauce she particularly loved, and the decoration was careful, fancy without being extravagant, and it was very private; unlike the king, Emma didn't have the urge to exhibit her like a prize.

"Do you like it?"

Emma's voice sounded so hesitant that Regina turned immediately at her with a touched smile on her lips.

"I loved it," she whispered. "I never-"

"I'm sure you've had better, but I just wanted to start low profile to make you feel comfortable with our new… huh… _situation_?"

Regina took another step closer to the blonde, imagining she would start babbling because she was visibly nervous.

"Emma, _this_ is the best I've ever had in my entire life."

Emma grinned sheepishly for a moment, staring at her shoes. Then, she went down one step and stretched a hand for Regina, who took it quickly. Emma pulled her chair for her and went around the table.

"Wine?"

"Yes, please."

The blonde staggered slightly as she walked towards the ice bucket. She had lost her ability to keep her balance on high heels, giving now that her main job was to run after Pongo on combat boots.

Regina watched her fondly as she carefully opened the bottle and served her an appropriate glass, like she did some sort of research for this night. That was definitively the best _situation_ she ever had, too.

"So, how was your day?" Emma asked, sipping from her glass.

"It was just regular, with Katherine bothering me only seventeen times about us having a date."

"I wish Kat was my friend. All I got was cranky Lucas women complaining that I ate clients' food, and the amount of origami paper scattered, and a bribe that involved my pet jacket."

"You ate other costumers' food, Emma?"

"I was hungry," Emma mumbled. "And nervous."

"I was nervous, too."

Emma looked at her in the eyes. "Really? You?"

Regina nodded.

"Holy shit…" Emma laughed. "I was feeling like it was the first time I asked someone out!"

"You seemed very confident after _months_ of babbling in my office."

"Ah well," she blushed. "I'm just not very good when we have to sit down and talk about feelings and stuff."

Regina laughed. "Lucky for you, that's your most adorable idiot trait."

"Thank you," Emma stood up again, grinning this time, walking towards the catering. "Hungry?"

"Yes," Regina smiled.

They ate, drank, talked and laughed for hours. Everything was going smoothly, until Regina caught Emma staring at her breasts. The blonde looked away as elegantly as she could, asked for a minute and climbed up to the diner.

Regina heard the faint sound of a coin and a punch, and music floated outside through the door and open windows. Emma had her hands on her pockets when she came down the steps. She offered one to Regina.

"Wanna dance, Miss Mills?"

She took it, smiling, and the second Emma pulled her body to hers it felt like she had stepped into a dream. The old jukebox played _Put your head on my shoulder_ by Paul Anka, and as Emma spun them softly, she could feel her heart beating against hers, and she could feel Emma's fingers clasped softly around hers, and her other hand on the small of her back. It amazed Regina how Emma could be sweet and dominant at the same time, and it was amazing how she could waltz her around so smoothly when she was so clumsy in broad daylight.

Emma closed her eyes the second she felt Regina resting her head on the side of her cheek and gently squeezed her shoulder with the other hand.

Regina closed her eyes, too, absorbing everything she could - Emma's heart, the music, the crickets, Emma's perfume… She could stay there forever.

Emma withdrew slightly and stared down at Regina. She looked like she was in love for the first time in her life, and even though Regina knew it wasn't true, she felt flattered that Emma looked at her like she was the most precious thing she possessed.

"You are," Emma said, and Regina's eyes shot wide open.

"I beg your pardon?"

"Whatever it is that you're thinking… you are," she said slowly, with a hint of a smirk that instantly made Regina dig her nails in Emma's shoulders. "Oh, you can't really hold a conversation with me without thinking about doing it, huh?"

"You were ogling my breasts a minute ago!" Regina hissed.

She threw her head back and let out a genuine Emma Swan laugh. "Ah well, they're beautiful."

Regina smirked, feeling more relaxed than it was possible to feel. Emma was so light, so easy going…

"You have a cute ass, and yet you don't see me ogling it every time you stand up," she snapped back.

Emma's lips rounded in 'Oh' shape as she stared at Regina in mocking indignation.

"You talk about me like I'm a piece of meat!" she spun her around one more time as a different song started to play. "But seriously, I knew you liked it."

"Oh, really, Miss Swan? How so?"

"The way your jaw dropped both times you spied on me naked."

"I didn't _spy_ , it was an accident-!"

"An accident? Twice, in the same week? Just confess that it made you hot. Just admit it-"

She heard Regina scoff, but she noticed the brunette sticking her body closer to hers than before. Emma gulped; she had been trying really hard not to make that night only about sex, but man, wasn't that an Operation Impossible…

"I have admitted before that I like your arms, and I just said I find your backside cute," Regina was saying absently minded. "If there's anything else you think that should be voiced, Miss Swan-"

"I wanna fuck you," Emma hissed in her ear, without even thinking.

Regina took a step back. Emma cringed slightly, getting ready for the royal slap in the face she was about to receive. Regina grabbed her clutch on the chair and walked quickly towards the door to the diner.

When Emma didn't follow, she rolled her eyes.

"That's would be the most appropriate time to _race_ me to my house, Sheriff."

The ride back to Regina's was a blur, and Emma was not exactly sure how they had made it to her bedroom so fast. All she knew was that, the moment she looked at Regina, she didn't want it to happen like that.

She wanted to kiss her slowly. She wanted to drive her insane as she took the time of the world to undress her. She stopped, and just watched her as Regina walked towards the bed.

"What?" Regina asked as she turned around and noticed Emma hadn't moved.

"God," Emma breathed. "You're beautiful."

Regina smiled as she carefully removed her red shoes. She came slowly towards Emma until she was right in front of her. The blonde stood a few inches taller now, but it still felt like the first time Emma laid eyes on the mayor and felt so overwhelmed that she could barely think coherently.

Somehow Regina remembered that look, a little girlish and timid, and yet invasive, unaware that she was dealing with the Evil Queen back then. She pushed Emma softly, and she landed on bed with a different kind of look – the one that made Regina feel like she was on fire.

She watched the blonde sitting on her bed, facing her, and hesitated for a second. She never did that with anyone, not even when she was prone to leather and boy toys. Emma's blue eyes followed her hand expectantly as she slid open the side zipper of her dress. She disentangled her arms from the thin straps, and pulled the fabric down her body slowly.

She kept her eyes on Emma, whose gaze followed every minimal movement Regina made. Emma watched the white dress pooled around her feet for a second, then ran her eyes up the mayor's body.

Emma didn't act goofily; the look on her face was wild, dangerous with the sight of Regina in lacy black lingerie.

"Fuck," she hissed, her eyes fluttering shut for moment. Regina grinned widely as she strolled slowly towards the blonde.

"Breathe, Miss Swan," Regina whispered huskily, pushing Emma by the shoulder so she would lie down on bed, crawling languidly on top of her along the way.

She leaned down to kiss her, but the second she got distracted, Emma held her by the wrists and spun them around, landing on top of her with a subtle smirk.

"Stop bossing me around, Your Majesty," she whispered in return, planting a trail of kisses down her throat towards her chest and hipbones. She noticed Regina's abdomen's shudder in a shaky breathe, and her lips opened into a devilish smile.

Emma crawled back up so they were face to face. She leaned in for a deep kiss; Regina's lips were warm, soft, and tasted like wine, but her gasps and muffled moans were driving her mad.

 _Focus_ , _Emma._

Apparently, she wasn't the only one having a hard time focusing. Regina grabbed her hand and led her between them, under her pants. She was more than ready, and Emma barely suppressed a groan as she – against her will – removed her hand and held Regina down by the wrists again.

"Be a good girl or I'll make you wait more," she hissed, half expecting Regina to snap her fingers, swap positions and tell her to shut up. But she didn't. Her eyes were flooded with passion and lust as they seemed to darken.

"Okay," she whispered in a raspy voice that made Emma shiver pleasurably.

Regina felt her entire body electrified as Emma took her time running the tips of her fingers over every inch of her, barely touching and yet making her pores stand on end. Her legs trembled involuntarily every time she felt Emma's hot breath licking her skin, and her heart seemed torn between escaping her chest and coming to a full stop.

Finally Emma reached down the clasp of her bra. She removed it so easily without looking that it impressed Regina for half a second – her reasoning went blurred again when she felt Emma's wet and hot lips around her nipple. And then around the other. And then her hands grabbed and massaged as she kissed the most sensitive spots of her neck in a very saucy way.

Regina tried to do the only thing she had left to do. Undress that annoyingly hot person on top of her. Emma didn't object, but when Regina felt her arms' muscles, so firm and hard against her palms, she tried to guide them downwards again.

"I told you to behave," Emma said, trying to sound aggressive. Her voice, however, was bordering desperate. She yanked Regina from the bed and carried her towards a large armchair, which was packed with discarded clothes from earlier. Emma gruffly threw them on the floor, her patient dying out.

She placed Regina on top of the soft cushion and kneeled in front of her with a very serious expression.

"I'm in charge here," she said with a low growl.

Yes, she was playing nice because she could barely stand anymore without wanting to fuck Regina with all her might. Regina, by her turn, did not even reply; she threw her head back and closed her eyes, trying to catch her breath.

Emma narrowed her eyes and spread Regina's legs, placing them on each armrest. She planted rough kisses on her inner thighs as she massaged the underside of her butt cheeks. Emma knew exactly where to apply pressure with her thumbs, and that was enough to have Regina contorting frantically, yanking her hips towards Emma's mouth.

Emma grabbed her ass and kept her hips lifted; she stared into Regina's eyes, which were now wide open.

"Please," she hissed.

Emma removed her panties without breaking eye contact, and the look of desire on Regina's face was enough to have her hurry and leave the soft love making to another day. When her lips touched Regina, the mayor let out a grunt, which quickly turned into a loud moan when Emma used her tongue.

She loved her taste, and could spend the rest of her life doing that. Emma felt Regina's hands on her hair, pressing her head against her center, and Emma simply complied.

It didn't take long for one final, strangled moan to indicate that Regina had an intense orgasm in her mouth. The blonde saw her legs trembling when she pulled back, but she didn't wait for her to recompose. Emma pulled Regina up and carried her to the vanity, pushing aside multiple flasks of makeup.

She thought she heard Regina let out a groan of complain, but the brunette pulled Emma to her into a heated kiss, indicating she didn't care about the little destruction. However, she withdrew, still cupping Emma's face, her hair a beautiful dark mess falling over her eyes.

"Emma," she snarled in a warning tone.

"Mm?" the blonde let out a cocky chuckle.

"Take off those damn clothes."

Emma decided it was not the time to banter, because not even she could stand that game anymore.

"As you wish, Your Majesty…"

Her voice trailed off as she carefully undressed in front of Regina. Only the lamps of the bedroom were on, and Regina just loved how they affected the visual of Emma's naked body. She looked majestically sexy with her toned arms and legs.

Regina parted her legs open to bring her closer and she immediately felt Emma inside of her, thrusting frantically. Regina moaned as she pulled Emma even closer, digging her nails into her shoulders, pulling her hair and moving her hips forwards to meet every thrust like her life depended on it…

Several broken flasks and gasps later, Emma relocated her to the bed.

They lay together, breathing quietly. Regina felt Emma stroking her hair softly as she rested her head on her chest and faced the other side of the room.

"Don't move," she said quietly. "I just need to use the-"

She felt Emma's laughter vibrating against her cheek.

"It's okay to say you need to pee, Regina."

"Ogre," the brunette grunted with a smile, getting out of bed as quickly as she could, but Emma managed to slap her ass anyway as she passed by her side.

"You look beautiful in white," she heard Emma say as she washed her face on the sink.

She grinned as she sat down the toilet, hands holding her chin. "You liked it, huh?"

"I did," Emma replied, and Regina could almost picture her, lying naked on her back, hands crossed on top of her belly, staring at the ceiling as she really considered the question like it was an important matter. "You're gonna give me a heart attack if we ever get mar-"

Regina blinked.

Emma didn't finish the sentence, but she waited. Did she just admit she wanted to-?

"Emma?" Regina called tentatively.

As the blonde remained silent, Regina got up and walked back to the bedroom.

Emma was gone.


	9. The imbecile makes a home

**A/N: Thank you for your continued support – reviews, follows and faves make me happy and eager to write more. Dedicated to Agatha and all the SwanQueen fandom.**

Regina marched inside Granny's holding her purse like a grenade.

Unlike last night, it was packed and noisy, and all eyes were on her when she walked in. Apparently, having Storybrooke's most famous diner closed for a private first date only backfired; she was almost a hundred percent sure everyone there expected the Sheriff to come following. Regina was about to spin on her heels and leave, when a hand came to her rescue.

"Hey, mom! Come have breakfast with us!" Henry said happily, dragging her to a booth in the back. Snow and Charming were sitting across from them, baby Neal clutching his bottle and reacting with the cutest smile when he saw Regina.

"All the Charming kids have a thing for the mayor now?" Ruby said, serving Regina with a cup of coffee just as if she did that every morning. "He looked away when I played with him a second ago!"

"It might be the wolf morning breath," Emma said grumpily, approaching the table, suddenly noticing Regina was there. Her eyes bulged; she babbled something incomprehensible and ran.

"Should I-?" Ruby pointed at the swinging door.

"Yeah," Snow said taking a quick look at Regina when the brunette didn't offer to go. "Why don't-"

"We help her?" David nodded as he stood up and beckoned Henry to join. "We're on it."

"How do you do it?" Regina asked after a moment, a confused frown on her face. "It's like you can read each other' minds!"

"We've been married for _decades_ , now," Snow said softly. "You'll see," and as the brunette reacted with a nervous laugh, Snow cut to the chase. "What's wrong, Regina?"

"I think your daughter… is an idiot."

"Well, tell me something new," she said with a sympathy smile. "What happened? Wasn't it supposed to be the 'morning after' of your first date? I was expecting to see you two together or not even _seeing_ you today."

Regina combed her hair with her fingers and sipped her coffee. It was too early to discuss Emma's emotional mess with her mother, but she imagined she couldn't just abandon the ship now that Snow White was involved.

"She said something last night, probably freaked out and left. I don't think it ever occurred to her that she would find me _here_. And now… Well, she's doing what she does best. Avoiding me."

"No no, wait a minute! What happened? I mean, how come she did something like that? She's been… infatuated for four _years_! She's been almost literally _drooling_ for you for the last few months, and now this?"

"Snow, really… Before you get all mad… I think Emma has to process the whole thing. It's all new territory, and I get it." It hurt her, but she really got it.

"Well, she pursued you, didn't she? Charmings aren't chickens! We don't back off!"

That made Regina burst out laughing. That weirdly caring family was really something she was not ready for, although she could not imagine a day without them fussing and talking and being honorable – and that was only breakfast.

"She may have let it slip that, eventually, we would…"

"Would what?"

"Get married," Regina said quietly.

"I beg your pardon?"

"Why are you so surprised?" she spat defensively. "She's _your_ daughter, after all."

Snow shook her head in utter disbelief; not because Regina would keep protecting herself behind a wall of sarcasm, but because Emma let her own walls down so easily around the mayor. "Regina, did you… mock her after she said it?" she asked, choosing her words carefully.

"Of course I didn't mock her, what kind of evil-" Regina rolled her eyes. "Fine, that sounds like something I would do, but no... I would never mock her about… that."

"So…" Snow had a small smile on her lips. "Did you say yes?"

"She didn't _propose_!" she lowered her voice to an irritated hiss on the last part, imagining that hell would break loose if the other clients heard that their Savior was going to marry the Evil Queen.

"Would you have said yes?"

"Can we focus, Snow?" Regina asked angrily, blushing furiously.

"Okay, okay! So… What did you do after she… suggested that?"

"I didn't do anything."

"Did you just sit there in mortifying silence?" Snow asked in unimpressed tone as if she already knew the answer.

"I… What was I supposed to say?"

"Oh."

"Is it that bad?"

"For regular people? No. For Emma? I'm not surprised she ran away. She's probably scared and embarrassed."

Regina slumped against the back rest of her seat, exhaling deeply. "Great. Is she skipping town as off now?"

"We have sent a search party to avoid that. Don't worry."

"Are you serious? You actually think she is running away?"

"Regina, listen… She's probably just hiding somewhere, and I could join them and look for her in every corner of this town, but you know what? I think you're the only one who will be able to find her. I think she'll be somewhere that only you will think of looking at."

"Because we'll always find each other?"

"Because she loves you," Snow said.

Regina sighed deeply. "Snow, look, I'm not taking it for granted _at all_. I'm just… I'm not used to this much… happiness, I guess," she said, staring at her cup of coffee to avoid eye contact. "It scares me sometimes. The way she makes me feel. But I do _not_ think this is funny, I absolutely do not think it's ridiculous that she considers it with me, from all people! I wouldn't have given her half of my heart-"

Regina had to look up when Snow White spat her tea on Neal.

"You gave her _what_?" she whispered, wiping his bald head as he chortled at his mom's antics.

The brunette felt her cheeks burn intensely. So Emma didn't tell her.

"She… _died…_ in my arms," Regina said quietly. "What was I supposed to do?"

Call an ambulance. Call her parents. Cry. Help with the funeral. Snow White's mind was _spinning._ When she finally spoke, her voice was barely audible over the thudding noise Regina's heart was making against her eardrums.

"Thank you."

Regina looked down at her coffee again, a small smile gracing her trembling lips. "Well, should I expect a properly absurd reaction from you anytime soon?"

"You should," Snow confirmed with a smile of her own. "At the Charmings picnic this Sunday."

"I guess I'll see you, then."

"I'll see you," she said grinning, and she remained like this after Regina left. She picked Neal from his high chair, finally wrapping up the story of the Queen and the Savior. At first she felt a little sad that Emma finally found a home and that it wasn't with her and Charming, but now she couldn't be happier that her daughter's heart was at 108 Mifflin Street.

XXX

As she walked down the streets, Regina considered her vault. That was, after all, their shared safety zone, now, but she decided against it. If Emma wanted to be found, there was only one logical place to go to at eight in the morning.

When Regina entered the main hall, Katherine caught her apprehensive look before she could even voice her concern.

"She's inside."

Regina nodded and hurried, but a second before stepping her office, she rearranged her worried and angry face to a neutral expression. Emma quickly stood up when she heard Regina open the door, but unlike the mayor, she looked a mess. Regina's first reaction was to hug her, but Emma seemed resolute to keep her distance.

"Before you break up with me, hear me out," she started, and shook her head when Regina opened her mouth. "Really, please."

Regina placed her purse on her desk and sat down behind it, wondering when it would be the best moment to interrupt Emma by kissing her – because even though Emma was an idiot, Regina would be glad to marry her someday.

"Okay, I freaked you out and I get it. I brought up… _that_ … on our first date. I… It just… I don't know, I was never a person who had dreams about it, it was not on my plans. I never even _thought_ about it, until… I don't want it, okay? I don't… Not now. I mean, maybe someday, but you don't have to worry about it. I'll never bring that up again. I'll never… Shit. You're supposed to make me stop babbling when I obviously can't do it on my own!" she finished it angrily, looking at Regina as though it was all her fault.

"Sit down," Regina said with a dangerous soft voice, and when Emma slumped down in the chair across from her, she cleared her throat. "Miss Swan-"

"Do not Miss Swan me!"

"I _will_ Miss Swan you whenever I feel like, because you may be in charge when we're on bed, but the minute you abandon me in the middle of the night, yes, I will Miss Swan you! Because I _am_ mad! I am mad that you ran away like I'm your worst enemy! I feel what you feel, and you should at least give me the benefit of the doubt! I was really considering to have real angry sex with you right now, to show you I'm not scared with what you said last night, but now I'm really disappointed, so… You can… go."

Emma took a full minute to absorb that.

Regina was not breaking up with her because she was a moron that brought up marriage on their first date. Regina considered make up sex in her office at eight in the morning so she would know it was okay.

How could she _not_ want to marry that woman?

"Maybe I can start babbling shit to get you angry again?" Emma suggested with a half-smile, which Regina didn't return.

The phone rang and she merely put it on speaker.

" _Madam Mayor, the City Counselors are here for the meeting._ "

The brunette looked away from Emma and picked the intercom. "Send them in, Katherine."

Emma closed her eyes, recognizing her defeat, and turned around to walk herself out. When she reached the door, she heard Regina say "Have a good day, Sheriff."

She looked back to reply, but Regina had already left to the adjacent room for her meeting. She slammed the door behind her and didn't even say goodbye to Katherine on her way out.

 _Damn it._

XXX

"You look like shit."

"Ruby, don't…" Emma sighed. "Just don't."

"I'm trying to cheer you up, c'mon!" her friend said softly, placing Emma's red jacket on the armrest of her couch. "Do you wanna talk about it?"

"No," Emma grunted, getting up and moving to her bedroom, where she quickly started to change her uniform by the oldest and most looped t-shirt and sweatpants she had. She knew that wasn't exactly fair to Ruby, but she wasn't in the mood to keep bringing up the fuck up she was.

"Fine," Ruby called out. "I'll have tequila shots waiting for you in case things go wrong."

Emma closed her eyes and swallowed hard. Things couldn't go wrong. It was only a fight.

Right?

Regina wasn't going to end their relationship just because Emma was absurdly stupid and underestimated her ability to love back.

Actually, that sounded _exactly_ like a good reason to break up with someone…

She rested her head against the wall and exhaled deeply. She was not ready to let go. It was the happiest and most short-lived experience she ever had, and she felt like she should cling to it desperately until it became ridiculous and Regina finally stepped into her heart with her high heeled shoes.

She heard Ruby greet someone on her way out, and by the slump noise, Emma knew she wasn't alone yet. She dragged her feet to her living room and found her son sitting on the couch.

"I convinced grandpa to cover for you at the station and, in return, you're not telling my mom I skipped school."

He sounded serious, like he meant business, and that reminded her so much of Regina that it hurt.

"I'm not in the mood to bargain, so you can go to school. I'm not upsetting your mother even more than I already have today."

Henry had expected a bit of a fight, but that threat sounded utterly depressed and meaningless.

"Ma, she took about two hours to pick a dress and a pair of shoes to go out with you! Whatever it is that you did, you can fix it. You _can_ fix it, because my mom _never_ did that for anyone, I mean… She's so into you!"

Emma had to laugh at that.

"Thanks, kid, but I have no idea what to do."

"You can do the opposite of… whatever you did last night."

The blonde frowned, impressed with her son's ability to sound smart and confuse her.

"We'll call this… Operation Gazebo. I'll wait for you outside."

Emma felt like she was on autopilot as she changed back to regular clothes. What was the opposite of running away?

 _Staying_.

She had to _stay_.

Feeling something warm spread across her chest, she hurried to find her boots, money and her keys. She ran outside, dragging Henry down the staircase.

"Where are we going?" he asked with the same excitement he showed the first time she gave him credit about the first curse.

"Hardware store," she said with a hopeful smile.

XXX

Regina didn't pay attention to what the counselors said from the moment the meeting started until those dull people finally left. She felt miserable, unable to focus on work. All she wanted was some apple and ginger tea, her bed and, well, she would have to admit at some point that she wanted Emma too.

 _Idiot._

Why was she so infuriatingly _slow_?

She spent the rest of her morning trying to write a text to the blonde, but she was not good at apologizing. Sorry for kicking you out of my office? That sounded superficial and meaningless. Around lunch time, Katherine called her.

" _Miss Lucas is here_."

Regina frowned. "Send her in, please."

Ruby entered her office a moment later, looking a little intimidated even though her clothes were shamelessly short and screamed confidence. She was carrying a paper bag that smelled delicious.

"What can I do for you, Miss Lucas?"

"Sign the delivery note?" the young woman said with a hint of a smile, placing the bag on the desk and handing Regina a piece of paper.

"I didn't order anything," Regina said stubbornly, even though she knew _who_ had ordered that for her.

"Well, someone doesn't want you to starve," she shrugged, getting the signed note and walking out of the office with a strut.

Regina shook her head and rolled her eyes, but she opened the bag when Ruby left, only to find her favorite dish from Granny's. She smiled. It looked like a certain Sheriff was trying to bribe her angry girlfriend with food…

Emma _was_ infuriating, but in a way that Regina would like to keep close… forever.

XXX

When Regina got home around six in the afternoon, Henry was in the kitchen, with his books and notepad spread across the counter, looking deeply concentrated. He looked up when she approached him, trying to keep his face neutral.

"Hey, mom!"

She was ready to point out that she had been informed by Snow White that he had missed school that he had white paint on his left cheek, but she held her tongue.

She heard a grunt outside, and both looked out of the window.

"You better have a good reason for covering for your mother," Regina winked at him, walking towards the sliding doors to the backyard.

Emma was sealing a half used can of paint; she added it to the wheelbarrow and pivoted it to take it somewhere else. When she did, her eyes fell upon Regina.

"Hi," she said hesitatingly, shoving her hands inside her pockets. Her arms were glistening with sweat, her muscles more pronounced than ever, but Regina _needed_ to focus.

"Hello, dear," she said, walking down the stair with her hands on her hips. She noticed Emma had finished the gazebo in white and peach colored paint, and also planted burgundy roses next to the white ones. She put on red and orange lamps around it, making it look exactly like their first date did.

"I thought you'd break up with me," Emma said again, taking a step closer.

"So I must admit it was very bold of you to invade my back yard."

"I'm sorry. I freaked out."

"What else do I have to do to make you understand that I love you?"

Emma smiled and looked down at her paint splattered boots. Then she looked back at Regina.

"Don't give up on me just yet."

Regina took another step closer, taking in the fresh paint smell. "It looks beautiful," she said, pointing at the gazebo. "You can sleep there tonight."

Emma laughed. "What? Is it my personal doghouse? I thought people had to live in the same house to-" her blue eyes immediately widened in horror. "Fuck, I didn't mean-"

"We could," Regina said quietly, folding her arms and watching Emma's slow reaction to her words. "If you want."

Regina could say she had no idea where that came from. She could say it was an impulse. But then, she realized how much she wished Emma said yes. She moistened her lips and looked at Emma with as much dignity as she could muster. Emma looked at her for a long time; then her lips cracked open into the most beautiful smile Regina had ever seen.

Regina let out a sigh of relief and grinned back at Emma, who grabbed her around the waist and kissed her slowly.

"You're a moron," she muttered.

"I know," Emma laughed. "But I do want to stay."

"Are you sure? You no longer can flee in the middle of the night," Regina said, her hands on Emma's chest, holding the straps of her old tank top.

"I don't intend to do that ever again."

"Good."

"We could have family dinner outside," Emma pointed backwards at the gazebo. "I got a table, benches and a grill."

"And the list of skills only goes on…" Regina said, letting her voice trail off suggestively.

"I still need to learn that spell that makes our son go deaf for a few hours in the middle of the night."

Regina threw her head back, laughing genuinely, grasping Emma's arms to keep her balance.

"You grill the food, I do the magic, Miss Swan…"

XXX

Snow White clasped her phone shut.

It was eleven a.m. on Sunday, and Emma was supposed to arrive with Regina and Henry at any minute. Snow forgot to bring juice to their picnic, and had called her daughter to ask her to pick it up at the groceries store, but her phone was off. She had tried Regina's cell, but she didn't pick up either.

"Why don't you try Regina's house?" David suggested, picking up Neal on his arm and hoisting him towards the butterfly that had landed on a tree. "Maybe they didn't leave yet."

Snow hit the speed dial button, and waited. It rang, and rang, and then she heard the answering machine beep. She was going to hang up, but Henry's voice caught her attention.

"Charming?" she said slowly.

"What is it?" he asked, concerned at her faint tone. He sat back down with Neal and touched her arm. "What's wrong?"

She offered him her phone. "Hit the speed dial and listen to it until the end."

David kept his frown in place as he followed her instructions. He let it rang until he heard a beeping sound, and Henry's voice greeted him too.

" _Hi! You called Regina, Emma and Henry. We're not here at the moment, so… Leave a message and we'll call you back._ "

He handed her the phone back, an unreadable look on his face.

"Looks like you'd owe me fifty bucks," Snow said in a sing song voice, grinning at him. They had made a pretend bet on that subject, but Charming had not taken it so seriously.

"Since when?" he asked astonished. "Emma didn't even ask for my help to move her things!"

"See, that's how it feels to be left out," she said with a smug smile.

"Why are you making this personal against _me_?" he threw a bagel at her, grinning.

"Because you didn't tell me about the heart they share, and I _know_ Emma told you!" she said, throwing it back at him.

"Oh, we just got in time for the food battle," Regina said sarcastically as she approached them carrying a basket, which emanated the wonderful smell of her lasagna. She was dressed casually with soft cotton pants and shirt, and wearing sunglasses that couldn't hide her amused expression.

Emma and Henry came right after her, carrying a gallon of water, a rolled up mat, another basket and what looked like a dismantled marquise.

"Hi," Emma said with a smile, patting her mom and dad on the shoulder, starting to set up the small structure. "Get the other hammer," she instructed Henry, who dropped his comic book with an eye roll and got up to help her.

"Hello, cute boy," Regina picked up Neal in her arms, who once again smiled and agitated his arms and legs at the sight of her. "Oh, I brought juice," she said, turning back at the stunned couple. "Emma said you always forget, so we made a quick stop at the farmer's market."

She moved away absently minded, taking Neal towards Emma so she could peck her little brother's forehead.

"They look happy," David said, passing one arm around his wife's shoulder, both watching them with Henry and Neal.

"Hold that thought. I saw Henry kissing a girl at school, and I'm not sure which mom will react most like a jealous monster."

Charming chuckled. "Let them figure out. Henry is as subtle as Emma, it won't take long."

Snow grinned as she watched Regina spin on her spot with Neal chortling in her arms. "Can you imagine them having another baby together?"

"You don't trust our daughter to keep it in her pants before the wedding day?"

"I just think it would be cute, Prince Funny," Snow offered him an eye roll and a mocking grimace.

"So… Who do you think will pop the question?"

"Probably Emma," she said, watching Regina remove Emma's hair from her face so she could snap a picture of the blonde, Henry and Neal under the marquise. "Unless she takes another four years to read all the signs Regina's been giving her."

"Signs? What signs?"

"You wouldn't know. I threw them off for months and it took you forever to propose to me. I'm afraid Emma got the slow genes from you."

" _Hey_!"


	10. Her queen

Emma drummed her fingers nervously on the coffee table. Henry's face was hidden behind his cellphone; he typed furiously, and his cheeks were pink, but Emma was sure she looked pretty much like him.

"Is it a girl you're talking to?"

"Why would you assume that?" he muttered without stopping what he was doing.

"Because you're all flushed."

"This shirt is a little-" he made a choking gesture with one hand around his neck, which was adorned with a black tie. "Why do I have to wear it again?"

"Because it's a formal event. C'mon, it's important to your mom," Emma waved her hand and the TV room instantly went cold. "Better?"

"Awesome!" he finally dropped his phone on his lap. "I didn't know you were mastering it, Ma!"

"Pretty cool, huh?" she smiled proudly.

"Mom's helping you?" he asked with a suggestive tone.

"Yeah."

"I saw her poofing the other day," he said, going back to his messages. "She didn't poof… in a long time. Before."

Emma noticed that both Regina's and her magic were working just fine, as if nothing had happened. She suspected it had something to do with not acting on their feelings, until they finally did. Everything was back to normal.

However, Emma felt a little nervous. It was the first time they were going out as a family, and to a town hall event, no less. Henry placed his phone on the couch and stared at her.

"Relax. You look fancy. Mom was really excited when she told me we both would escort her. She's been going alone to those events since the curse."

"That's why I'm nervous. I don't wanna embarrass her, or do anything stupid."

"You won't, Ma," he chuckled, picking his phone again.

"It _is_ a girl, right?"

Henry rolled his eyes and took a deep breath to answer, when a voice made both look at the doorframe.

"Are the Frozen Sisters back in town and no one told me? Why is it so cold down here?"

Emma felt her jaw drop. "Holly shit-"

"Wow, mom!" Henry grinned at her as he and Emma stood up from the couch.

Regina was astounding in a dark red dress and black pantyhose. She smiled. "Thank you, honey. You look so handsome and grown up! Why don't you wait for us in the car?"

Henry patted Emma's shoulder and sprang towards the front door so he could message Violet in peace.

When the door closed, Regina turned back to Emma. "You look beautiful," she said, unnecessarily adjusting the lapels of the blonde's suit coat. It was dark gray and tailored to fit her perfectly, covering nothing of Emma's backside in the skinny black pants she was wearing, leaving little to imagination.

"You liked my ass in those, didn't you?" Emma muttered, narrowing her eyes as she couldn't help a gorgeous smile.

"I'm in love all over again, dear," Regina sighed. "I wish we could skip the formalities and-"

"Have a quickie in your office while the others drink and chat?"

And she was back with reading Regina's thoughts again.

"You scare me sometimes, Emma Swan," Regina said, faking arrogance, when in reality the butterflies in her stomach just danced nervously. Snow's voice echoed in her head more often than she would like to admit, these days – _We've been married for decades, now. You'll see._

"Not a big deal, I'm just used to your horny face, so I always now," Emma said distractedly, sounding very arrogant herself, opening the door and gesturing for Regina to go first.

"I don't have a horny face!" Regina hissed as she passed by the blonde, not before getting her own ass smacked. "You can't do that in front of our son, Emma!"

"Look at him, eyes glued to his phone, Gina," the blonde laughed as they walked towards the Mercedes. "He doesn't even remember we exist."

"You might be right about that, but we still need to discuss this atrocious nickname you came up with," Regina rolled her eyes and had to smile when Emma got the passenger door for her. "Thank you, dear," she said with a chuckle. Emma was impossible.

The blonde walked around the front carefully not to trip on her brand new high heeled shoes, and then she sat down behind the steering wheel.

"Wow, I always forget how classy this car is," she commented with a sigh, inhaling the scent of leather and all their perfumes combined. "You should let me drive it more."

"I thought you liked your yellow tuna can-"

"I do not appreciate _this_ atrocious nickname you gave to my bug, Miss Mills-"

Henry looked away from the message Violet just sent and watched his moms through the rear view mirror. They were grinning like fools at each other, flirting in that obnoxious way that only them could.

A light rain caught up with them on their way to Town House, and by the time they arrived, Leroy and the other dwarves were waiting with umbrellas on the side walk to escort people inside. The second Emma parked, Henry jumped out of the car and waved at his moms; a group of boys and girls was already waiting for him by the front door, protecting themselves from the rain under a marquise that was installed there.

"Well, turned out it was a great idea to put the midgets in charge of security and reception tonight," Regina said, trying to avoid thinking about those kids. Were they good kids? Did they have cigarettes, alcohol?

"Be nice, your majesty," Emma chuckled, aware of her real concern, squeezing her thigh in reassurance. "They're your electors."

"There are only seven of them. And I don't like their attitude," Regina grunted, lowering the visor to check her red lipstick on the mirror.

"You didn't like my attitude either," Emma said, reaching back for an umbrella on the back seat.

"Yes, but you have a cute ass."

Laughing, Emma sat back down and looked at Regina. She was trying to sound cool, but she knew she was nervous.

"Hey, I love that you love my ass, but seriously. He'll be okay. Tonight it will be all about this great thing you did for Storybrooke. You taught people how to live with the differences, and well, wouldn't it be stupid to do anything that could possibly hurt _your_ son?"

"Our son. And it was Snow's idea."

"Yeah, but you're the new voice in Town. Everyone listens to you now, Gina."

"Except you. Knock it off with the nickname."

"We can make a deal."

"Clever," Regina couldn't help grinning. "What's your price?"

"Sex. For the rest of my life."

She may not have noticed the way Regina's eyes lightened up, or not even realized what her words triggered, but Regina didn't care. She smiled at the smug blonde in front of her and sighed, as though thinking about it had been very exhausting. "Deal."

Emma pecked her lips and got out of the car quickly to get Regina on the other side.

Storybrooke wasn't an overpopulated town, but it felt like a million pair of eyes was on them when Regina hooked her arm to Emma's under the umbrella.

"So this is what it feels like to be married to a celebrity," Emma murmured in her ear. "Everyone's _ogling_ you! What does a girl have to do in this town to mark her territory?"

"Calm down," Regina murmured with an amused tone while her heart stopped for a second and her stomach squirmed uncomfortably. "There are obvious ways to show them."

"Oh really?" Emma grinned. "Like what?"

 _Like proposing and putting a ring on my finger, you idiot!_

"I didn't know I could smack your ass in front of them," Emma went on, an amused smirk twisting her lips as she waved at people, until her eyes fell on her parents. "Oh, there! Hey, guys!"

Rolling her eyes, Regina followed her, hurrying to stay under the umbrella, like she was walking Pongo on a rainy day.

And _God_ , wasn't she the most infuriatingly _slow_ person on Earth...

"Hey, you two!" Snow grinned as she gave Emma and Regina a hug. "Oh my God, you look so beautiful, Regina…!"

"Hey, dad," Emma hugged him, feeling a quick peck on the top of her head.

"You look so elegant!" he said proudly. "A sword and you could beat any Prince back in our day."

"Ha, thanks," she chuckled, noticing he didn't let go of her just yet, and that her mother was dragging Regina inside the entrance hall. She saw through a window that a lot of people wanted to talk and shake hands with the most iconic women in Storybrooke, especially now that they stopped trying to kill each other and became associated for the well-being of their town.

Actually, Emma thought that a picture with Snow White and Regina Mills was in fact memorable.

"So," David's voice brought her back from her reverie.

"So?"

"How's it going?"

Emma immediately related to Henry; she felt the need to roll her eyes, but she loved that they still cared about her like that.

"Smooth. I got three meals and a blanket."

"I'm serious-"

Emma laughed, patting his shoulder affectionately. "I'm happy, dad."

"Good," he guided his hand to ruffle her hair but then stopped. "Your hair looks fancy. I won't ruin it. Right now."

"Fair enough. And how are you? You look… secretive."

"Ah you know, things are fine. We were just wondering about you."

"Like I said, I'm happy."

"Happy isn't too vague? Like yeah, I'm happy. Yeah I like it the way things are. Yeah we could have more, but I'm okay with that-"

Emma groaned. So the good looks and the babbling genes were actually from _his_ side.

"Dad, what-?"

"Are you _both_ happy like this? Isn't anything missing to your happily forever after?"

Emma scrunched her face, considering it. He talked like Henry sometimes, and God she hated she never got it right away.

"You're not expecting one of us to… balloon up pregnant, right?" Emma asked, narrowing her eyes.

"Okay," David sighed, dragging her as far away from the crowd as they could without getting in the rain. "Listen, your mother insinuated that you're just like me."

"Well, thanks for my sculpted chin?" she said sarcastically.

"She said you're like me in the 'catch a hint' category. We're slow, Emma."

"Slow? What am I missing here?"

"I can't say it, your mother has forbidden me to interfere, but I can help you."

"Dad-"

"You have to pay attention to the signs, Emma."

"What?"

"Emma?" Archie called her out from the door. "Regina's going to start her speech and she wants you next to her."

"Okay, we're having a serious talk later," the blonde said to her father, hurrying to get inside and stand next to Regina. In fact, being next to that woman was all that she wanted right now.

Regina looked tense, but the second Emma showed up, her lips opened up into a beautiful smile.

"Hey," Emma said, holding her hand in the middle of the crowd.

"Where have you been?"

"I was outside with my dad, he's acting really weird-"

"Well, that must run in the family," Regina said with a smug smile, hooking her arm to Emma's again and spinning on her heels. "I had a really interesting and absolutely pointless conversation with your mother just now. We need to find Henry. I want him up there with me, too."

"I got this," Emma collected her phone from the inner pocket of her suit and called him, looking around the big lounge they made only by relocating furniture. "Hey, where are you?"

" _Outside with my friends._ "

"Come on in, then. It's time for your mom's speech, she wants you here."

" _Fine."_

"Watch out for lipstick smudges-"

" _Mom_!"

Five minutes later and Henry showed up, slouching as he came towards his mothers. He grimaced at Emma and stood on Regina's other side to avoid her teasing him.

When Regina made any announcement, the whole town would hold their breaths and listen out of fear, but it was different this time. She had Emma and Henry on each side of her, both pretty much the same height now, and she looked like a brave but ordinary woman, and not someone who scared them shitless.

Little by little, she became the person she always wanted – someone her people could maybe not love, but trust and look up to.

They listened this time because Regina's speech was warm. By the end of it, people cheered and clapped, and Emma held her hand strongly, so Regina would know she was there.

"You sounded like a queen," she said, her voice muffled by the sound of the others.

"I'm not anymore," she smiled, squeezing her fingers in return. "I think I never was."

"Well, you're mine, now," Emma shrugged, aware that Regina didn't hear her.

XXX

It was late, and people were having a good time nursing cocktails while they chatted. Emma was walking around the room, when she spotted her dad and scampered towards him.

"Finally," he said when she offered him a beer. "I couldn't find any of those in the middle of the champagne sea."

"The perks of coming with the Mayor. You get to know where the real alcohol is hidden," Emma winked, clicking their bottles and sipping it. "So, what the hell were you trying to tell me outside?"

"All I can say to you is that… Oh, just a sec," David picked his phone from his pocket and answered it. "Hi, Granny! Yes, okay… Really? Oh. We'll be right over," he flipped it shut and returned it to his pocket. "I need to find your mom. Neal's got a fever."

"Fine," Emma felt her shoulders drop. "Let me know if he's okay."

"Will do," he smiled at his older daughter and passed a rolled up magazine to her. "Don't tell your mother."

He hurried after Snow and Emma was left in the middle of the room, holding what looked like a teenagers' magazine from the nineties. She went to a secluded corner and unrolled it, almost choking on her beer as she read the front page.

 _How to tell your boyfriend you want a ring without actually saying it – The signs boys miss and how to fix it._

XXX

Henry entered the kitchen excited, but immediately he rolled his eyes at the sight of his brunette mom sitting on his blonde mom's lap. They looked like an out of control couple of teenagers. _His friends_ could be more discreet than his moms, who were in that public display of affection for months now.

"Guys! It's nine thirty in the morning!"

"Did you get it, sweetie?" Regina asked with a chuckle, noticing the plastic bag on his hand. She got up from Emma's thighs, hearing a small groan of complain as she walked towards their son.

"Yes! I vote for the one where Ma looks squinty."

"Let me see it," Emma grunted, snatching the bag from his hands as he and Regina laughed. She picked a small stack of sample photographs and placed them on the counter, making room among pancakes and coffee mugs.

All the pictures had almost the same image – the three of them in the gazebo at the back yard, dressed in warm sweaters and wearing Santa hats, sitting at Emma's old couch. Henry sat grinning between his two moms, who smiled at the camera just like him. They swapped positions in other versions, but that was the best one.

"Ned from the shop told me you have until tomorrow to email him the message you want, so he can print it on the pictures," Henry informed his moms. "What's it going to be? Merry Christmas from the who?"

"We'll think about something, honey," Regina said with a polite smile, rushing him to his seat next to Emma. "Here, eat. You're cold?" she asked, brushing his shoulders.

"I'm fine, mom," he said in a bored tone, but both women knew he loved the attention. He was eating more than Emma, and he would sulk and grunt more often than not, but deep down he was still the boy who only needed a family to believe in him – and it didn't hurt if they smothered him senseless.

Emma looked at Regina as both examined him chew absently minded as his eyes remained glued to his cellphone screen. The brunette raised her eyebrows, and Emma winked at her in a sort of 'I got this' gesture.

Regina nodded and left the kitchen for a minute, trying not to look so obvious.

"Ma?" Henry turned to Emma, lowering his voice as soon as his other mom left. "You think mom will be okay if I invite a friend over for dinner?"

Emma looked at their son. He had a thin, horrible dotted line under his nose that was the prototype of a moustache. She hoped it wouldn't be as ridiculous as Neal's, and she definitively was driving him to buy a razor in the afternoon.

Emma looked at the door, and actually considered how Regina would react to their little moustached boy growing up and having a date. Work was calm at Town Hall with Thanksgiving just around the corner, and she was constantly in good mood.

"The friend I saw you kissing behind Mr. Gold's shop?" Emma asked.

" _Ma_!" Henry hissed, looking up at the door and then back at her.

That would have been a perfectly normal, embarrassing moment for Henry if Regina had driven by and caught them. The fact that it had been Emma only made it absolutely worse, ten times more embarrassing than the average a teenage can stand. She honked _and_ waved.

"Sorry about that. I'll talk to her, okay?"

"So you didn't tell her."

"No. That's your business, kid."

"Really? It wasn't that private when you passed by with grandpa's cruiser making a lot of noise in the middle of the street-"

"I know," Emma said quietly, unable to hold back a smile. "I'm just glad you found someone who makes you…" her voice trailed off as she shrugged. "Your mom makes me feel all…" she let it trail off again as though she could not quite find the proper words. "I'm not saying you're gonna marry her or anything, I'm just happy that you're happy."

Henry grinned reluctantly. "Thank you, Ma."

"She's pretty."

"Could you not?"

"Okay."

"I don't know what you two are up to with all the hissing, but you better cut it out," Regina said, returning all of a sudden. "I need you to run some errands, I'll have to watch this turkey all day… Oh, and please, go to Ned's shop and pick a message for the cards. The way things are going, they'll deliver our Christmas card by New Year's Eve."

They both stood up and got a peck from the brunette on their way out. Regina smiled as she watched them outside, throwing snow balls at each other as they walked towards the bug.

She looked back at the sample pictures, and it was hard to believe a photograph could actually depict the real happiness in that house. The problem was the message, with Henry insinuating at _all times_ that they should define a family name to put in the card.

She didn't want Emma to freak out and abandon them before Thanksgiving dinner, but the card idea was a very 'married-couple' thing to do, especially when you had a _son_ together. Regina wondered many times if Henry was doing that on purpose, planting the seeds like he did before they started dating, or just being obnoxious like his birth mom.

Emma, on the other hand, would always act clueless when the subject popped up over dinner or movie night. She was so, so slow…

Regina shook her head, dismissing her thoughts, and decided to focus on her oven. It was the first time in her life she would cook for family and friends.

In fact, it was the first time in a long time that she actually _had_ family and friends…

XXX

About one hour later, Emma returned with a lot of paper bags in her arms. Regina chuckled as she watched the blonde swear when, as she closed the bug's door with her foot, her beanie fell on a puddle.

She was in her office, nursing a cup of tea, and it didn't take long for Emma to find her. She was slightly out of breath and her cheeks and nose were pink, but she smiled when she saw Regina.

"Hey," she entered and sat down across from the brunette. "Henry went to the gift shop, if that's okay. I gave him money for lunch and told him to be here before it gets dark."

As Regina nodded, Emma frowned.

"You look… upset?"

"It's my first… dinner with other people. I've been doing this on my own for…"

"Thirty two years. Sorry," Emma chuckled. "I forget you're not supposed to do the math about a woman's age."

Regina smiled genuinely. "It's a good thing you're here. I need some Swan humor to calm my nerves."

"Huh, really?" Emma laughed nervously.

"What is it?"

"Okay, don't freak out, alright? Henry wants to bring a… friend," Emma said slowly. "Tonight."

Regina clasped her chest like she was holding her heart. "Oh dear lord, I thought he had impregnated a girl, by the way you were looking at me!"

"He will, if those make out session behind shops move to a different place-"

"And he was worried _I_ was going to be the paranoid parent," Regina chuckled. "I taught him manners, Sheriff. And how to be respectful."

"Well, I'm glad you did, Madam Mayor," the blonde hooked her foot under Regina's chair and dragged her towards herself. "So, the kid went buy his girlfriend a Christmas gift. Wanna go upstairs and see my respectful manners?"

Regina chuckled, feeling warm from head to toes and… else.

"You are incorrigible-"

"And you are very, very irresistible behind a desk, Gina…"

"I think you have just cancelled our deal-"

"Awn, c'mon, it's Thanksgiving-"

"And you should thank _me_ for not being able to resist your stupid charm, dear-"

XXX

"So… That's Violet," Snow White said, watching the girl that laughed hard at something her grandson was telling her.

The mansion was full of people laughing and eating, and that point right underneath the staircase was the perfect spot to check out on other people's conversation without being too obvious.

"And still you don't seem surprised," Emma said, folding her arms as she watched the girl as well.

"I work at their school."

"Oh."

"Yes, that's the feeling of seeing your child leave you for a pretty girl."

"Isn't the universe a drama queen?" Emma commented, knowing full well that her mother was only playing.

"Wow, you live in a fancy house, Swan!" Ruby said, stopping next to them with a glass of cider. "And she _can_ make a cider, Jesus-!"

Laughing, Emma looked around their house. It felt slightly packed with Storybrooke's inhabitants. They had made a list of their closest friends, but as the mansion had never been this populated, it looked incredibly loud and smaller.

David was in charge of the beer keg, serving Leroy glass after glass, and Granny was keeping people out of Regina's pristine kitchen as much as she could. Archie was helping Doc to serve the appetizers that Regina spent the afternoon preparing, and between telling jokes to his girlfriend, Henry was making sure no one broke anything, while Emma was in charge of huge spilling accidents.

Emma turned back to her mother. "Okay, I know I didn't share a lot of important things with you this year, but there's one thing you have to know. In fact, _I_ have to know."

"Oh okay," Snow said, frowning slightly as she held her glass and followed Emma through the corridors of Regina's house.

She came to a halt in front of Regina's office and beckoned her mother in, looking to her left and right frantically to make sure no one saw them. She turned on a lampshade and went straight for a drawer on Regina's desk.

"I hid it here because, well, it was the less obvious place to keep it. It's been sitting here for about three months and she never found it. Okay, I need an opinion," she pushed a brochure towards her mom. "I was torn between this one from the catalogue," she turned to the marked page, making Snow gasp "-and this one I actually bought, so… Is it… fit for a queen?"

Snow covered her mouth and looked at her daughter.

" _Emma_!" she whispered, tears forming at the corner of her eyes and she rounded on the table and hugged her strongly. "I can't believe it! Oh my God, it's perfect! So you're going to-"

"No," Emma shook her head, but she was smiling. "I'm not slow. Actually, tell dad I'm not a boy, either. He'll know what this is about," she added as her mother looked confused at her. "Anyway, I don't wanna ask. I mean, I want to, but I think Regina's still too attached to this," she showed her tattooed wrist. "I want _her_ to control her destiny. I want her to… not sit around and wait. I want her to say what she wants. And I'll wait for her. Whenever she's ready."

Snow let out a deep sigh. She patted Emma's shoulder as they both stared at the beautiful diamond ring sitting in a red cushioned box. She smiled. "I think, Emma... That this you're giving her… a chance to choose… I think _this_ is fit for a queen."

XXX

The morning after Thanksgiving, Regina went downstairs and found their house a lot messier than it had ever been, even after Emma moved in. Regina reminded fondly of the first days, and it was hard to believe they had made it six months already.

In fact, she was a little worried they would come to an end.

She woke up alone in bed, and the final versions of the printed cards were spread on the exact spot Emma slept every night. Regina picked one, and her heart dropped to her stomach when she saw the golden writing printed on their photograph.

MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM THE SWAN-MILLS

"Oh God…" Regina groaned, wondering if there would be an Emma shaped hole in the front door.

She stood up and grabbed her robe, putting it on top of her pajamas, when she spotted Emma in the gazebo, sitting at the couch outside, in the same place she sat for the picture. Regina hurried downstairs, adding a coat to her robe on her way out to the backyard.

She crossed her arms as she moved against the cold wind, and when she climbed up the gazebo, Emma was smiling at her with two cups of coffee in her hands.

"Morning," she said.

"What are you doing here?" Regina asked, sitting down next to her with a frown, accepting the hot beverage. "It's so cold!

"I like it," Emma sighed, looking around as if she was contemplating something. "And I liked it."

She took one of their printed cards from the pocket of her sweater. Regina was about to explain it might have been Henry's idea of a joke, but then she just realized what Emma said.

"You did?"

"Yeah. It rings nice to the ears," Emma commented, sipping her coffee distractedly. " _Swan-Mills_."

Regina rolled her eyes. So she liked it because it sounded _nice._

"Swan-Mills," Emma repeated, noticing the woman next to her getting gradually annoyed at her supposed slowness. "Emma Swan-Mills," she made a gesture, like she was signing an invisible paper. "Sheriff Swan-Mills."

"Emma, what are you-?"

"I'm giving you hints, because you obviously are very, very slow."

It took Regina half a second to understand. Emma wasn't looking at her, but she had a small smile on her lips as she sipped her coffee again.

"You _want_ to have my last name?" Regina asked hesitantly, and Emma finally looked back at her.

"Yes."

"Really?" she frowned, confused. She was afraid to be assuming something huge. "You know that, in order to have it, you need to be legally married to me, right?"

"Yes."

"So… You… Want to?"

"This is my third yes. What do you think, _idiot_?"

Regina laughed, feeling the corner of her eyes burn, and feeling her heart speed up inside her worried chest. She placed her cup on the floor, took Emma's and put it down as well, holding both of her hands in hers.

She couldn't speak, and she could not think properly, and she could not believe that that imbecile was able to keep making her happier and happier.

"I don't have a ring!" she sputtered, as one single tear rolled down her cheek and she chuckled at how ridiculous the whole thing was.

"Lucky for you-" Emma laughed and made a gesture for her to hold on "-that won't be a problem." She took the velvet box from her pocket and opened it. Regina gasped, and maybe it was the first time she looked so stupidly surprised in her life. Still not sure how she got so lucky, the brunette offered her hand so that Emma could put the ring on.

It fit her like a glove.

"Emma?" Regina said carefully after a long time looking at her very engaged finger.

"Mm?" the blonde asked, passing one arm around her shoulders.

"You're making me babble. I'm babbling."

"Yes, you are."

"I'm turning into you!"

"It takes years to master that, don't be so full of yourself, Gina."

Regina squeezed Emma's thigh and chuckled. "It stuck, didn't it? The nickname?"

"Like I stuck to you," she sighed, bringing the brunette closer to her oddly warmer body.

"I like that you stuck," Regina muttered, resting her head on Emma's shoulder.

"Even though I'm an idiot?"

"You're my idiot."

"That's why I'll marry you."

"Because I insult you?"

"Because you finally understood that I'm yours."

 **I hope you liked it was Regina. Were you gambling on that? Thanks for reading!**


	11. Moron

_**Well… this is the end of the babbling barbarian saga. Thank you all so much for the support. Your reviews, favs and follows made me so happy that I would keep this story going forever if I could. It's been a real fun ride, I hope it was for you too.**_

 _ **Leave a review in case you have suggestions for an extra chapter, or even a sequel.**_

 _ **So… Have fun, guys!**_

 _3 years later_

Emma opened her eyes slowly.

The bedroom was grayish, and very little light entered through the curtains. She pulled the covers closer to her body, missing the warmth presence next to her.

Regina left the bathroom tying her robe around her waist. She gave up on keeping her hair short, and now it had grown a lot, cascading down her shoulders as she moved around the bedroom, trying to find her slippers.

She came to the edge of the bed when she noticed Emma was awake.

"Good morning," she whispered with a smile, kissing the blonde softly.

Emma pulled her and made her fall on top of her body very ungraciously. "You should get back to bed."

"You should get up to put salt on the front drive," Regina kissed her again and then straightened up next to their bed. "It's snowing a lot."

Emma buried her face on the pillow, groaning.

"I'll make you pancakes!"

"Fine," she said with a muffled voice, rolling over the mattress and noticing Regina was wearing _her_ Darth Vader slippers the moment she exited the bedroom. _Excellent_. That meant Regina forgot her froufrou silky lacey ones somewhere in the house and Emma would have to wear them, because apparently only Mr. Vader's head could keep Regina's feet warm.

Yawning, Emma went downstairs and entered the kitchen, where delicious smells hit her senses all at once. Regina was humming something absently minded as Emma watched her with a sleepy smile from the doorway. She did that every morning, and yet every time it felt like the first time she stood there, not knowing what to do.

The brunette turned around and grinned, gesturing for her to sit down, and brought her coffee and a tall stack of pancakes. As Regina leaned on the counter to serve her, Emma took in her favorite scents – usually, it was that faint trace of after sex that came from Regina's skin, but sometimes it was the scent of soap Regina used in the shower before bed – all this mixed with strong coffee.

It smelled like _home,_ and it made her half-heart pump gladly inside her chest.

XXX

It was a lazy Sunday. As Emma went outside to handle their slippery sidewalk, Regina decided to head to her office and finish some paper work. Since those envelopes addressed to Henry arrived, she would take a few moments like this to distract her mind a little with Storybrooke's business.

Emma never complained about that, which was a blessing, because Regina was not sure she would be able to handle the news if she didn't have Emma being absolutely rational for both of them.

Henry had been accepted to most Colleges that he applied, and even though New York was not that far, she could not believe her little boy would live with them only until summer was over. Regina hated the summer, and she wished it could snow forever.

Suddenly she felt a little cold and went searching for Emma's clothes upstairs. Regina felt a pang in her heart when her hands felt the fabric.

She pulled the white sweater from the bottom of a messy drawer. Somehow it always seemed to come back to haunt her. It was the sweater that Emma was wearing the night she became the Dark One and died.

She put it on, feeling warm so suddenly that it almost felt like magic. Emma's clothes had that odd power over her. When she returned to her office, she saw Emma through the window, walking to the backyard with a bag of salt and a shovel. Minutes later, the blonde found her in her office.

"Hey."

"Come in," Regina smiled, noticing the way Emma looked at the particular piece of cloth.

"I thought you threw it away," she said, sitting on top of the desk in front of Regina's chair.

"It's so warm."

"It makes you sad."

Regina smiled, holding her hand in hers and squeezing it gently. "Good thing you're here, then."

"Do you want me to do a striptease dance like in 2014?"

The brunette burst out laughing.

They came home from a date, late at night, and sure that Henry was still out with Violet, Emma snapped her fingers and turned the stereo on. As Annie Lennox's music boomed softly from the TV room, Emma started to strip off her clothes at the entrance hall, doing a dance that Regina had never seen in her life, but found oddly sexy despite the fact that Emma was a dork.

It only took a shirt removal for the blonde to go from clumsy to extremely hot. Regina loved when she wore the black bra and how it highlighted her muscled arms and abdomen. When Emma touched the zipper of her jeans, Henry walked out of the kitchen with a glass of water.

"Night, Demi," he said, laughing and cringing at the same time as he hurried upstairs.

Desperate to hide, Emma turned around quickly to flee the most embarrassing moment of her life and slipped on the carpet runner, falling on her side with a loud rumble.

"Oh God, are you okay?" Regina hurried and kneeled down next to her, a worried expression quickly replacing the amused one.

Henry came back, covering his eyes with his hand so he wouldn't see his mother on her bra.

"You were not supposed to know that movie," Emma grunted, and then groaned when she tried to laugh and it hurt.

She broke her left arm and a rib that night.

"I need you in one piece," Regina shook her head, chuckling. "I'm sorry, dear. That was memorable."

"I know it was," Emma grinned, loving that she had managed to make her laugh. "Come on, this sweater is like a Horcrux. Take it off and let's get out of here."

"What do you mean, get out of here? It's nine in the morning," Regina pointed out.

"Yep. Good thing about the time is that we can eat breakfast at Granny's," Emma said, pulling Regina from her chair without any resistance.

"You _just_ ate!"

"I'm hungry again," she muttered.

"I'll bake some more-"

"Gina? Baby?" Emma pulled her back in front of her as Regina was already hurrying out of the office. She held both of her hands in hers.

"What?"

"I just want to take you out of the house. Okay?"

A lot of emotions flashed past her deep brown eyes, and Emma hated that she was in that much pain because their son grew up.

"Thank you," Regina whispered, placing both hands on Emma's chest and kissing her.

"Sure," the blonde winked when they withdrew. "Okay, hand that over-"

" _Fine,_ " Regina grunted like a spoiled child, lifting her arms and taking off the sweater, shivering the second the wool left her skin. "See? I'm cold now!"

"I have tons of sweaters in that closet. Pick another one."

As Regina grumpily marched towards the staircase, Emma sighed, crumpling it into a ball. She threw it one of the TV room's armchairs, trying to decide what to do with it. She went towards the kitchen and wrote Henry a note, which she attached to the fridge with a magnet in case he woke up and didn't find them home.

She grinned broadly when Regina showed up wearing a thick, dark grey hoodie twice her size, with a large print of Batman's symbol.

"Shut up," Regina warned her. "What are you, a twelve years old?"

"Says the lady actually _wearing_ it," Emma chuckled, enveloping Regina in a hug and kissing the top of her head. "Are you warm in there?"

"Yes," the brunette grumbled.

"Good. Let's go, then."

They got inside the Mercedes and Regina let Emma drive, so she could merely watch the landscape. It was weird that something created inside her mind, meant to be a prison and a punishment, transformed itself into a place she loved with all her heart. _Half_ of her heart, that is.

Granny's was not full, and that was probably because of the intense cold on the streets. Ruby looked grumpy behind the counter, rubbing her hands together in order to keep them warm.

"Morning, Regina. Morning- Wow, you look _exactly_ like your dad!" Ruby said, referring to Emma's padded vest and the flannel shirt she was wearing.

"Shut up."

Chuckling, Regina slumped down on the nearest stool and took one of the many greasy menus. She had been through it over a million times, but she found the task soothing, even though she knew it by heart at this point.

"We're having bacon and eggs today. And black coffee," Emma said, shutting away any possibility of Regina ordering something else.

"And catheters. To go," the brunette said to Ruby with a fake smile, and then turned to Emma. "I'm not eating this!"

"Yes you are," Emma said unaffected by her reaction. "We're going for outside activities today, and you'll need energy."

Regina rolled her eyes and sighed. "Fine," she grunted, and looked up at a confused Ruby. "Go ahead, bring me a heart attack on a plate."

Ruby offered her a sympathetic smile. "Look, I know it's a bummer Henry's leaving… But instead of being sad about it, why don't we throw a farewell party for him? We have half a year to plan it, and it will keep you busy."

"I don't want to spend six months planning a celebration because my son is moving out and leaving me!"

"I wish you held onto that when you two got married," Ruby grunted. "I had six _weeks_ to plan the wedding of the _century_ because the ladies had ants in their pants-"

Her voice trailed off as she left to the kitchen.

"It's not a bad idea."

Regina's neck actually snapped when she quickly looked back at Emma. "I'm not throwing a party!"

"Think about it. We can ask people to leave a message for him. We'll record everything on tape, and if he so much as forget to call us or don't pick up the phone when we do, we can post the video on Facebook, so his cool, _stupid_ college friends will see what a smothered mama's boy he is," Emma suggested with a grimace. "That or we can shrink him back to ten years old."

Regina grabbed her hand on top of the counter. "I didn't know you were this annoyed that he is leaving. I thought you were just resigned but otherwise okay."

"Believe me, you're not alone on this boat. I hate it as much as you do, I just… I want to encourage him to go while in secret I want him to stay."

"Can we shrink him back to a baby?"

Emma went back to the day she gave him up for adoption, and how close she was from meeting Regina if she had stayed a little while in the hospital. "I would have loved to raise him with you."

"I wish you had been here," Regina whispered, squeezing her hand in an affectionate way.

Emma smiled sadly, but she patted Regina's back excitedly when their food arrived. She hated those intense moments of could-have-been's. "Look, this will cheer you up. I promise."

"I don't know how it could possibly – _God!_ " Regina closed her eye in pleasure as she took a bite from her plate. "Mmmm… _God_!"

"And this, ladies and gentlemen, is what my wife sounds like when she comes," Emma muttered, grinning as she attacked her food as well.

"I hate you," Regina told Emma through a mouthful. "This is going to clog my arteries-"

"You're welcome."

After eating, they left Granny's and climbed into the car. Regina noticed Emma was driving towards the old town line, and she frowned.

"Where are we going?"

"You'll see. We're almost there."

Regina looked around, and frowned deeper when the blonde made a turn to the left and they were actually inside the woods. They drove for a few more minutes, and Emma parked when they arrived at the clearing. There were fallen tree trunks and two axes stuck into one of them.

"Are we becoming a secluded couple of lumberjacks because our son is moving out?" Regina asked.

"That's an idea, but not right now," Emma pulled her out of the car and then toward the axes. "Pick one and watch. This is my anger management class."

She placed a log on top of a chopped tree, adjusted it at the center with the tip of her boot and swung the axe. The log split in two, both halves falling to opposite sides. David had taught her a few years back, and she found out quite recently how soothing to the nerves it could be.

"Now it's your turn," she said, placing another log and beckoning Regina to come closer.

Regina sighed. Whenever Emma came up with some absurd idea, it was impossible to make her let go. She swung the axe up to her shoulder and tried to copy the movement. What she didn't expect was the tool to be so heavy; it slipped off her hands and flew a few feet past the log.

"Hold it tighter," Emma picked it and offered it back to her.

"I don't want to do this."

"Come on. One more try."

Regina rolled her eyes and did it again, aiming for the log. The axe actually made the right course, but it didn't split it completely.

"Awesome!" Emma said excited. "Again."

In one hour, Regina was puffing and grunting, swinging the axe like a professional wood chopper, Emma rounding on her, whistling and clapping.

When she couldn't stand to lift her arms any longer, Regina slumped down the ground, resting her back against the Mercedes.

"This actually made me feel good," she said, holding Emma's hand as soon as the blonde sat down next to her. "Thank you."

"I'm glad I could help. Here," she offered her a beer.

"Where did that came from?" Regina asked, accepting it with a frown.

"I have a secret stash buried right over there," Emma pointed at a trapdoor.

Regina closed her eyes as she sipped her beer, smiling. When the first gulp hit her stomach, she reminded why she didn't drink this sort of beverage. "This tastes awfully good and makes me look like I'm pregnant."

"You can't seriously refuse beer for that reason," Emma rolled her eyes, finishing hers in a few sips.

"I can, actually. If I had your metabolism, I wouldn't be complaining."

"But you're hot!"

"Curvy."

"I love your curves!"

"Then why did you date that… _underfed_ … girl… before me?"

Emma laughed out loud when she remembered Nadia. She was skinny as hell.

"For the same reason you were with a _dude_ before me. Should I be worried I don't have a pack inside my pants?"

"Point made," Regina chuckled. "I'm just… feeling a bit old."

"Aw, c'mon…" Emma pulled the brunette to her, and passed one arm around her shoulder. "You're the most beautiful woman in Storybrooke!"

"Ass kisser."

"Since when _you_ have such a sailor mouth, lady?"

"Since you dragged me to chop wood with an ax and drink beer, dear."

"You're right. We need to find something less masculine for you. Have you considered going back jogging?"

"I should get a horse from the stables and ride again. I was really good at that. I'm not a huge fan of running around town like an idiot."

"So, after _four_ years, you finally admit you just jogged that day to spy on me naked."

"Oh my God, Emma…"

"Don't worry, your secret is safe with me," the blonde winked to annoy her. "Okay, I'll think of something else to keep you happy even when Mr. I-Was-Approved-In-Every-College- Smartass is gone."

"You're handling it absolutely well for a moron," Regina pulled Emma to her and kissed the side of her head. "Thank you for that."

"What I won't do to make Your Majesty happy?" Emma stood up and offered a hand to pick Regina up as well. "Let's go home. Henry must be up already."

"I think I'll ask him," Regina said, accepting the help and grabbing Emma's arm to steady herself. "About a farewell party."

"I think he'll like it. And I think," Emma opened the passenger door for her. "We'll like it too. It's been a while since there was a party in this town."

"Maybe I'll make Storybrooke Parade an official holiday. And yes," Regina chuckled and rolled her eyes as she got in the car. "I miss seeing you in that uniform."

"I can wear it anytime you want, why do we need a Parade?" Emma rambled all the way to the other side and slumped down behind the steering wheel. "I can make a _dance_ with the uniform!"

"Honey, if you'll do a private parade just for me, what's the fun?" Regina squeezed her right thigh as she maneuvered the car out of the clearing and through the woods. "I want to exhibit my little hot sex toy to the whole town."

"You definitively know how to flatter me," Emma grinned broadly. "Fine, I'll parade my muscles for you. Don't babble on your speech."

"I'll try my best," the brunette chuckled.

Maybe it would not be so bad. Emma would keep her so busy and entertained that, some days, she would probably forget a little that she missed Henry. And with time, she would catch up with the idea that kids grow up and belong to the world, but they would always come back for Thanksgiving, and Christmas, and whenever someone broke their hearts or fired them from their first job.

"So…" Emma brought her back from her thoughts. "Do you feel like cooking or should I stop at Granny's for takeout?"

"Are you hungry again?"

"I'm always hungry."

"I know that," Regina smiled at the blonde, recognizing the first signs of impatience due to lack of food. "And what does your rumbling, bottomless stomach craves?"

"Fries. And burgers. And more fries. And extra pickles. And onion rings. Oh Jesus, I'm dying…"

"And _that_ , ladies and gentleman, I _my_ wife having an orgasm…"

XXX

Ruby Lucas was not a romantic person and did not believe in love at first sight.

The moment the doorbell to Granny's rang, she lifted her sleepy eyes from her fingernails and saw a square jawed woman standing there, looking to her sides and then marching towards her.

Ruby Lucas hated Monday mornings with all her heart.

"I'm looking for-" the brown haired woman looked down at a clipboard "-Miss Wolfie."

Ruby's eyes snapped open in surprise. "How dare-"

"Ha," the woman chuckled, ignoring her visible irritation. "Regina told me you would react like this. She hired me to help you plan her son's farewell party."

"Who are you?" Ruby asked grumpily.

"Dorothy Gale, party planner on my free time."

"And what do you do on your busy time?"

Dorothy grinned at her defiant tone. "You don't wanna know, Wolfie."

"I do. You smell like dogs, and if you're gonna spend time inside our _restaurant_ , then yeah, I wanna know."

That seemed to take the woman off guard; she pulled the collar of her shirt and sniffed it.

"Must've been Toto-"

Ruby blinked several times. "Toto? You're Dorothy from Oz?"

"Yeah, why?"

"You sounded nicer in the book. Are you always so arrogant?"

"Only when I have to. What book are you talking about?" she asked, narrowing her eyes.

"The Wizard of Oz book. It's my favorite. I know all about…" Ruby's voice trailed off as she noticed she was blushing, fangirling over a woman who looked at her like someone looks at dog shit under their shoe. "Anyway, the party. What do you have in mind?"

Dorothy sat down slowly, eyes glued to Ruby and her poorly covered body parts.

"Aren't you cold?"

"Aren't you supposed to worry about your job?"

"It's difficult to concentrate on that when you're half naked in front of me," Dorothy said, looking down at her clipboard and going through a few pages.

"You talk like you never saw a woman naked, Kansas," Ruby spat, serving two cups of fresh coffee.

"Oh, I _have_ , Wolfie," she muttered, eyes on the pages, trying to focus on Regina's overly refined handwriting.

XXX

"I hate her!"

Emma looked up from the monitor. The station was quiet, with David out on street patrol, but now that Ruby was inside, the air changed. She seemed angry, her face was red, and she was wearing clothes that didn't seem to match the description of snowy weather.

"Who do you hate?"

"Your party planner! She's a… _bitch_! She's so annoying with that clipboard and those fancy shirts-"

Emma was smiling, and that made Ruby even angrier.

"What's so funny, Emma Swan? You're supposed to help me with- God, I hate her," she walked past the blonde's desk and came back a few more times.

"It's Swan-Mills," she corrected her friend, showing her golden ring on her left hand. "And we thought it would be good to get someone to help you after almost giving you a stroke over our wedding ceremony-"

"You could have asked _anyone_ to help me but her! She's a pain in the ass and she has that smug smile on her face. _Ugh_! She annoys the hell out of me, Emma. I can't _stand_ her!"

"Well, I once felt pretty much like you towards someone," the Sheriff said carefully. "But after we worked out our personal issues, we figured out how to co-exist in the same place for a long time."

"And how did you do it?" Ruby asked sardonically.

"I married her."

"Shut up, Emma."

"Well, you asked," she shrugged. "But the party was your idea. What do you want me to do? Regina's finally on board, I can't talk her out of it now. I'm in her good books and I wanna keep it that way."

"You can't stand one night sleeping far from your sex goddess, can you?" Ruby scoffed. "God, I hate love and I hate people in love!"

XXX

"Mind if I join you?"

Regina looked back at the door and found Henry, and for a split second he looked like he was five again. If it wasn't for the deep voice, he could have fooled her for another half second…

"Absolutely not, honey," she beckoned him in with a warm smile. She usually didn't watch TV, and when she did, she would merely let Emma or Henry lead the way and pick something.

Tonight, it was the first time she was doing it by herself, but she loved that Henry wanted to join her.

"Your mom looks so nervous," Regina commented, eyes on the screen as Henry sat down close to her.

"She was shaking," he chuckled, watching intently as he and Emma walked down the aisle, arm in arm, wearing pretty much the same outfit, with the exception that Emma's suit's cut was a lot more feminine.

Regina looked at her wife and son on the TV, recalling her own moment of panic on the backstage of that video, feeling like her heart was going to escape through her throat if she so much as breathed. She remembered David walking Snow up to the altar and then returning to get her.

That was not planned. She had prepared herself to walk down the aisle alone. Ruby thought it would be metaphorically and allegorically more dramatic, but now she didn't feel powerful or intimidating enough to do it on her own.

"Every girl should have their dad doing it," David said with a gentle smile as he saw her in her white, gorgeous dress. "I would be honored if you would let me."

He offered his arm and Regina felt her throat burn at the same time that her heart calmed down, as if David being there suddenly could soothe her nerves. She laced her naked arm to his and allowed him to lead her out of the car.

"You're going to ruin my makeup and I want to hate you for this, Charming," she said with a thick voice, removing the tears from the corner of her eyes with the tip of her manicured fingers as they walked up to the central aisle that Ruby had adorned with white roses.

"I'm glad you're still trying," he winked, and he looked infuriatingly smug, just like Emma. He offered her a handkerchief and smiled. "You look beautiful."

"Here comes you, mom!" Henry pointed at the TV screen, and there she was, with her makeup immaculate and a huge smile on her lips. "Grandpa cried a little, look!"

Regina re-winded the video and saw as David discreetly wiped his left eye with the back of his hand.

"He's a softie," she said, smiling fondly at the man. It was weird to love someone that much when you made a hobby of hating and chasing them in the past. "Your mother is just like him."

They watched the ceremony with the volume down, talking about everything they could remember that wasn't caught on camera, except for Emma's silent and constant tears of joy - that had been caught by _everyone_.

She wouldn't stop smiling and shedding tears, and Regina felt a jolt in her chest, just as if she went back there at that moment, and smelled Emma's perfume, and the freshly mown grass, and heard the violins on the background, and felt Emma's warm hand on hers, promising to never let go.

The camera moved past Snow, who offered Charming one of her own tissues, then at Ruby, Archie and Laura, and all the rest of Storybrooke, who magically - and exceptionally - fit into Regina's backyard for the ceremony.

"I'm gonna miss living here."

Regina looked at Henry, surprised that he sounded so insecure.

"We're going to miss you too, sweetie."

He looked at her, and the brunette could verify that Emma had taught him how to shave correctly. She had no idea how Emma could have done that without having a beard herself, but well, the blonde knew so much about so many things…

"You think New York is the right choice? It's not far, but-"

Regina knew that, if Emma had been there, she would agree immediately that he dropped college so they could start a small business to sell lumber during the winter and paint houses over the summer, wearing matching overalls and ball caps.

Since the blonde wasn't, Regina did what she thought she had to do.

"You always felt connected to New York, just as you always felt connected with the Enchanted Forest, Henry, even though no one believed you. Please, honey… If there's _one_ person who can follow their heart, that's you. It won't mislead you."

"Does Ma agree with you?"

"Like me, she hates to see you go. But she knows deep in her heart that this is what you should pursue. And no matter what, you can always come back. This will always be your home."

"I'm gonna miss you, mom," he squeezed her hand. "I'm even gonna miss Ma waking me up early to wash the car or do something with tools on Sundays. Don't tell her I said that."

Regina laughed and pulled him to her arms. He was so tall now that she felt small next to him. But when he stammered _I love you, mom_ … He was just her little boy again, even if only for a fleeing moment…

XXX

Pretty much like her curse on reverse, those six months flew by in the blink of an eye. Regina watched through the window as Emma took the last bag to the bug and locked the trunk. The blonde made her way back inside and met Regina on the TV room.

"Hey," she said softly, sitting down next to her. She didn't feel ready to this road trip, either. Regina grabbed her hand in silence and exhaled deeply. Emma went on. "Ruby and Dorothy didn't kill each other, the diner is all set up, Henry's bags are in the car… It smells like success."

"I love when you are positive just to cheer me up," Regina touched Emma's face, smiling sadly. "But it's okay if you want to just sit and sulk for a minute."

"I love that you know _exactly_ when I need to drop the act. This is killing me."

"We're going to be fine, dear," Regina squeezed her hand, adding more pressure to her fingers. "Until then, let's hate college, and let's hate New York all we want."

Emma sighed, caressing Regina's hand with her thumb. "Hey, do you wanna get wasted before the party starts?"

"That sounds like a terrible idea," Regina sighed. "Yeah, let's do it."

And they drank – beer and wine – and they watched homemade videos that showed Henry growing up. When it was time to get dressed, they helped each other up the staircase, took a quick shower together that involved a quickie, and then came back downstairs looking happier than they had been all day.

The party at Granny's was incredible. It was packed with the youngest public of Storybrooke, but the old faces started to show up eventually. Emma had insisted on bringing a camera, which she used to follow people around relentlessly.

Regina was sitting in one of the outside benches, grinning as she watched the blonde terrorize people with the equipment. Snow sat down next to her, offering a plastic plate with a hotdog and mashed potatoes.

"My daughter is a dork."

"Oh, look at that-"

They watched Belle dodge Emma like a bullet – and Belle was one of the most polite people in that room.

Regina accepted the plate and started to eat. She had been so worried about the last details that she barely touched the food since the party started. Not to mention that other mothers decided to make it a communitarian celebration to send away their kids to college, too, and Regina had to constantly remind Ruby and Dorothy that they could not neglect the other parents' opinion.

Which they did.

All the time.

"We could _not_ have found a grumpier pair than those two to organize it," Regina said. "Where are they?"

"I have no idea," Snow said, attacking her plate as well. They had been all too engaged with keeping Ruby off Dorothy's throat that they barely ate that day. "If they wanna strangle each other, fine. I'm hungry."

"Snow?"

"Mm?"

As Regina opened her mouth repeatedly to speak and didn't get to elaborate her sentence, Snow White figured what that was about.

"It _is_ awful to send a child away," she said before the brunette could even bring back their old wound. "But Henry will be fine, like Emma did. Okay?" she insisted, squeezing her arm softly.

"Okay," Regina swallowed hard, not sure what bothered more, the food or the stuck up tears.

Emma tripped over someone's foot and stood up quickly, saying repeatedly "I'm okay! I'm okay!"

Regina burst out laughing, and the tears rolled down her cheeks, freely. Snow was laughing a lot more than a mother should, but she just couldn't help it – not when Emma had been a jerk with that camera.

David came outside, holding Neal's hand, but the little boy disentangled from his father and ran to his mother, not before making a quick pause in front of Regina's knees. He stuck his fingers into her mashed potatoes and shoved it into his mouth.

"Neal!" Snow chastised him. "That's wrong! What do we say when we do something wrong?"

"Sorry, Gina," he mumbled, but with a little smile that made him look like Emma.

"Little rascal," Regina muttered grinning, unable to resist. "I'm going to tickle you-"

"I think we have a situation in the ladies' room," David said. "Someone is locked in there, and there's a huge line of angry women wanting to break in."

"I'm on it," Regina sighed, offering her plate to Neal. "Watch it for me?"

"Okay."

"Don't eat."

"Okay."

She laughed as she spun on her heels, fully aware that he would have his mouth full of her mashed potatoes when she returned.

The inside was warm and noisy, and she had to fight through a small crowd to make her way towards the bathroom. When she finally made it to the door, she smacked it three times.

"Whoever's in there, don't make me use a fireball. Get. Out!"

It took a full minute, but the door finally clicked and Ruby appeared, her face flushed and her hair a ridiculous mess. She walked past the crowd with as much dignity as she could muster.

"Regina," she said, nodding politely, one second before Dorothy followed her, nodding as well and equally disheveled.

"Madam Mayor," she muttered.

Both women walked away as if nothing had happened, and as the line of women finally started to advance towards the bathroom, Regina burst out laughing once again.

XXX

Henry made a mixtape for their road trip, which Emma secretly and bitterly baptized Operation Swallow Your Heart. The tape, however, was the only sound inside the bug as they traveled to New York in the morning after the party.

Everyone was oddly silent, and even during the quick stops for coffee and bathroom they would keep conversation to a minimum. There was a lot of visual contact, though. And holding hands. And a few pictures with Emma's infernal camera.

It was like a dream. They arrived to Henry's dorm, and helped him carry all his belongings upstairs. His roommate would come on Monday, so Emma made him promise to text her with his name the second he arrived – she would run a full check up on her old computer and make sure her son was not sharing a dorm with a potential serial killer or drug addict.

She knew she could not protect him from bad people and all the problems of the world – not even in Storybrooke. It was time to let him go, and this time it felt a million times worse than when she gave birth to him.

Regina held her hand in silence, knowing full well what Emma was thinking.

She gave his small room a once over, considering it too ordinary and too simple and too far from 108 Mifflin Street. She placed the lasagna she prepared on top of a desk so Henry could have his first dinner in New York with a bit of a taste from home.

Emma squeezed her hand strongly in return, telling her they would be okay.

The travel back was another surreal dream. They held hands, and kept listening to the mixtape. The blonde made a mental note to throw it away as soon as they got home – she would never be able to listen to any of those songs again. She might just shove it into the box that held her white sweater and hide it inside Regina's vault.

There were some text messages from Snow on both their cellphones when they arrived in Storybrooke. They could check that on the morning. Hand in hand, Emma and Regina walked inside the mansion.

"It feels weird," Emma said, looking around the entrance hall.

"It feels really weird," Regina agreed, pulling her upstairs and towards their bedroom.

They lay in bed in silence, Emma spooning Regina instead of breathing hard as she ripped off her clothes.

Regina drifted off to sleep first, and when she woke up, in the middle of the night, she realized she was alone. Emma's side was still warm. Regina got up and walked towards Henry's room when she saw the weak light of a lampshade bathing the floorboards of the corridor.

Emma was sitting on his bed, facing the window, hands between her legs as she stared blankly at the curtains. Regina sat down next to her, clasping her fingers around the blonde's.

"Now what?" Emma asked, her voice hoarse.

"Now we… move on," Regina said, resting her chin on her shoulder.

"I can magically try to get you pregnant."

Regina laughed at the possibility, picturing half of Storybrooke passing out and the other half looking politely puzzled. But above all, she imagined David and Snow's reaction.

"Your parents would flip."

Emma chuckled. "We could get a dog."

"Or not."

The blonde smiled and stood up, offering a hand to Regina. "Or-" she waved her free hand and _Put your head on my shoulder_ started to play from Henry's stereo "-we could enjoy the free time to go out on extravagant first dates every week," she said, spinning Regina on the carpet as the music played. "And then we can have all the loud sex we want."

Regina chuckled against her shoulder as she let Emma lead her around the room. She wasn't wrong when she thought she would be busy without Henry.

"I liked it, Sheriff."

Emma stared down at her, a tiny, drowsy smile gracing her lips as they spun around slowly and the music faded.

"I love you, Gina," she sighed, resting her head on Regina's shoulder and closing her eyes as she took in the familiar scent that made her fall asleep every night. "And I love you, Gina's ass," she patted the brunette's buttcheek a few times.

Regina grinned, pulling Emma closer, feeling her warm breath against her neck as they held each other.

"And I love you back," she whispered. "Moron."


End file.
